
Book >L -5 o Z 



Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
in 2011 witin funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/lifeofjohnledyar01spar 



THE LIFE OF JOHN LEDYAKD. 



LIFE 



JOHN LEDYA 



AMERICAN TRAVELLER; 



COMPRISIN-G SELECTIONS 



FROM HIS JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



BY JARED SPARKS, 




CAMBRIDGE, i 
PUBLISHEF^ ^^ HILLIARD AND BROWN ; 

AND BY 
HILLIARD, GRAY, LITT ■'^^' ^^^ WILKINS, AND RICHARDSON AND LORD, 
BOSTON- G A.^° <^- CARVILL, NEW YORK; CAREY, LEA, 
' ■ AND CAREY, PHILADELPHIA. 



1828. 






DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT. 

District Clerk's Office. 

Be it remembered, that on the twentyfourth day of November, 1827, in the 
fiftysecond year of the Independence of the United States of America, Hil- 
liard & Brown, of the said district, have deposited in this office the title 
of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words fol- 
lowing, viz. . „ ,, . . c. I 

•' Ihe Life of John Ledyard, the American Traveller; comprising Selec- 
tions from his Journals and Correspondence. By Jared Sparks." 

In coiifoimity to the act of the Congress of the United Slates, entitled " An 
act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, 
charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the 
limes therein mentioned ;" and also to an act, entitled " An act supplementa- 
ry to an act, eiitillcd-' An act for the encouiagenient of learning, by securing 
the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such 
copies, during the limes therein mentioned,' and extending the benehts 
thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other 

'"''"'"^^■" JNO. W. DAVIS, 

Clerk of the District of Massachiisetts. 



CAMBRIDGE. 

HilUard, Metcalf, and Company, 
Printers to the University. 



Hj 



N 



PREFACE. 



Soon after the death of John Ledyard, the subject of the 
fallowing memoir, some progress was made in collecting ma- 
terials for an account of his life, by Dr Isaac Ledyard, then of 
New York. The biographer's task was never begun, however, 
and the project was abandoned j but the papers procured for the 
purpose have been preserved by the family of Dr Ledyard, and 
have furnished the facts for much the larger portion of the pres- 
ent narrative. Researches have also been made in other quar- 
ters, and important original letters obtained. Particular ac- 
knowledgment is due to Mr Henry Seymour, of Hartford, 
Connecticut, for the aid he has rendered in this respect. All 
the papers that have been used are entitled to the credit of 
unquestionable authenticity. 

Wherever it could be done, without deviating too much from 
a regular and proportionate train of events, the traveller has 
been allowed to speak for himself. His manner of thinking, 
as well as of acting, was so peculiar, that a true picture of his 
mind and genius, his motives and feelings, could with difficulty 
be exhibited in any other way with so much distinctness, as 
through the medium of his own language. Free and full se- 
lections from his letters and journals are interspersed. His in- 
cessant activity, want of leisure, and few opportunities of prac- 



VI PREFACE. 

tising composition as an art, afTord an apology for the imperfec- 
tions of his style, which the candid reader will regard in the 
favorable light it deserves. His diction is never polished, and 
his words are not always well chosen ; but his ideas are often 
original, copious, well coiTjbined, and forcibly expressed. 

In executing this work, the only aim has been to bring 
together a series of facts, which should do justice to the fame 
and character of a man, who possessed qualities and performed 
deeds, that rendered him remarkable, and are worthy of being 
remembered. If the author has been successful in this attempt, 
he is rewarded for the labor it has cost him. 



fi 



f 



I 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 



Birth and parentage. — Early education. — Begins the study of the law.— - 
Enters Dartmouth College with a view to qualify himself to be a mission- 
ary among the Indians; — State of the Indian missions at that time. — His 
fondness for theatrical exhibitions while at College. — Travels among the 
Indians of the Six Nations. — His return to College, and adventure in visit- 
ing a mountain. — Consti-ucts a canoe at Dartmouth College with his own 
hands, and descends the Connecticut river in it alone to Hartford. — Dan- 
gers of the passage. — His singular appearance when he met his friends. — 
His enterprise compared to that of Mungo Park on the Niger. - - 1 

CHAPTER II. 

His singular letters to President Wheelock. — Commences the study of the- 
ology. — His embarrassments on this occasion. — Visits several clergymen 
on Long Island, and pursues his studies there for a short time. — Proposes 
teaching a school. — Returns to Connecticut, and meets with disappoint- 
ment in his hopes of being settled as a clergyman. — Abandons his purpose 
of studying divinity. — Sails from New London on a voyage to Gibraltar. 
— Enlists there as a soldier in the regular service. — Released at the so- 
licitation of the captain of the vessel in which he sailed. — Returns home 
by way of the Barbary Coast and the West Indies. — Resolves to visit 
England, and seek for his wealthy family connexions in that countiy. — 
Sails from New York to Plymouth. — Travels thence to London in ex- 
treme poverty. — Realizes none of his expectations. — Enlists in the naval 
service. — Gains an acquaintance with Captain Cook, and embarks with 
him on his last voyage roimd the world, in the capacity of corporal of 
marines. .---.---.-..20 

CHAPTER III. 

Ledyard's journal of his voyage with Captain Cook. — Testimony in his favor 
by Captain Burney. — Sails for the Cape of Good Hope. — Thence to Ker- 
guelen's Islands and the south of New Holland.— Character of the peo- 



Vm CONTENTS. 

pie on Van Diemen's Land. — Present state of the Colony there. — Arri^'es 
in New Zealand. — Account of the people, their manners and peculiarities. 
— Remarkable contrasts exhibited in their character. — Love adventure 
between an EngUsh sailor and a New Zealand girl. — Omai, the Otahei- 
tan. — Vessels depart from New Zealand, and fall in with newly discovered 
islands. — Affecting story of three Otaheitans found on one of them. — Ar- 
rival at the Friendly Islands. — People of Tongataboo. — Their condition, 
mode of Uving, and amusements. — Ledyard passes a night -with the king. 
— Wrestling and other athletic exercises described. — Fheworks exhibited 
by Cook. — Propensity of the natives to thieving. — An instance in a chief 
called Feenou, and the extraordinary measures used to recover the stolen 
property. — Departure from Tongataboo. - - - - . - 37 

CHAPTER IV. 

Society Islands. — Otaheite. — Ledyard's description of the language, cus- 
toms, religion, laws, and government of the natives. — Their probable faith 
in the doctrine of transmigration. — Remarks on his mode of reasoning on 
this subject. — His theory of the origin of customs and superstitions. — 
Notions of a Deity among the Otaheitans. — Conduct of Omai. — Difl&cul- 
ties attending the efforts to civiUze savages. — Sandwich Islands discov- 
ered. — The vessels proceed to the American continent, and anchor in 
Nootka Sound. — Appearance and manners of the people. — Indian wam- 
pum. — The abundance of furs. — Cannibalism. — Curious digression on the 
origin and practice of sacrifices. — Captain Cook passes Bering's Strait, 
explores the northern ocean till stopped by the ice, and returns to the 
island of Onalaska. — Sends Ledyard^ with two Indians in search of a Rus- 
sian establishment on the coast. — His account of this adventure. — In 
what manner he was transported in a canoe. — ^Village of Russians and In- 
dians. — Hot baths. — Their habitations and manner of living described. — 
Bering's vessel. — Ledyard returns to the ships, and reports to Captain 
Cook. — Expedition returns to the Sandwich Islands. - - - - 61 



CHAPTER V. 

The ships anchored in Kearakekua bay. — First interviewwith the natives. — 
Reverence with which they regarded Cook. — Tents erected for astronom- 
ical observations. — Ceremonies at the meeting of Cook with the old 
king. — Ledyard forms the project of ascending the high mountain in Ha- 
waii, called by the natives Mouna Roa. — Description of his ascent, and 
cause of his ultimate failure. — The natives begin to show symptoms of 
tmeasiness at the presence of the strangers, and to treat them with disre- 
spect. — Offended at the encroachment made on their Moral. — Cook de- 
parts from Kearakekua bay, but is compelled to retiu-n by a hea\y storm, 
that overtakes him, and injures his ships. — Natives receive him coldly. — 



, CONTENTS. IX 

-'rhey steal one of the ship's boats, which Cook endeavors to recover. — 
Goes on shore for the purpose. — Is there attacked by the natives and 
slain. — Ledyard accompanied him on shore, and was near his person when 
kiUed. — His description of the event. — Expedition sails for Kamtschatka, 
explores again the Polar seas, and returns to England. — Ledyard's opin- 
ions respecting the first peopling of the South Sea Islands. — Other re- 
marks relating to this subject, founded on the analogy of languages, and 
manners of the people. — Characteristics of Ledyard's journal. — Estima- 
tion in which he held Captain Cook. 92 

CHAPTER VL 

Ledyard returns to America — Interview with his mother after an absence of 
«ight years. — Passes the winter in Hartford, and writes his Journal of Cook's 
Voyage. — Visits New York and Philadelphia to concert with the mer- 
chants the plan of a commercial expedition. — Robert Morris agrees to en- 
gage in a trading voyage, under his direction, to the Northwest Coast. — ' 
Proceeds to Boston, and afterwards to New London and New York to 
procure a vessel for the purpose. — Failure of the enterprise, after a year 
had been spent in fruitless attempts to cany it into effect. — Letters to his 
mother. — Makes a trial in New London to enhst the merchants of that 
place in his scheme. — Was the first to propose a voyage for a merchan- 
tile adventure to the Northwest Coast. — Sails for Cadiz. — Letters from 
that city containing political remarks. — Sails for L'Orient. — Makes an 
agreement with a company of merchants there to aid him in such a 
voyage, as he had proposed in America. — After eight months' preparation, 
it is given up. — Goes to Paris. - 126 

CHAPTER VII. 

Meets with Mr Jefferson at Paris. — Project of a voyage to the Northwest 
Coast with Paul Jones, for the purpose of estabUshing a trading factory 
there. — Proposes travelling across the continent from Nootka Soiond to 
the United States — Thinks of going to Africa with Mr Lamb. — Remarks 
on Paris, and various objects that came under his notice. — The king at 
Versailles. — Mr Jefferson and Lafayette. — The Queen at St Cloud. — Ap- 
plication through Baron Grimm to the Empress of Russia, to obtain per- 
mission for him to travel across her dominions to Bering's Strait. — Colonel 
Humphreys. — Contemplates going to Petersburgh, before the Empress' 
answer is received. — Curious anecdote of Sir James Hall. — Visit to the 
hospitals in Paris. — Tour in Normandy. — Proceeds to London, where he 
engages a passage on board a vessel just ready to sail for the Northwest 
Coast. — Colonel Smith's letter to Mr Jay. — The voyage defeated. — Re- 
solves anew to go to Russia. — Sir Joseph Banks and other gentlemen 

contribute funds to aid him in his travels. 153 

h 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Ledyard proceeds to Hamburg.— Goes to Copenhagen, where he meets 
Major Langbom, another American traveller. — Endeavors to persuade 
Langbom to accompany him on his tour, but in vain. — Continues his 
route to Sweden, and is disappointed in not being able to cross the Gulf 
of Bothnia on the ice. — Journey round the Gulf into the Aictic Circle on 
foot, through Sweden, Lapland, and Finland. — Maupertiiis' description of 
the cold at Tornea. — Airives at Petersburg, where he is befriended by 
Professor Pallas and others. — Procures a passport from the Empress, 
through the agency of Count Segur, the French ambassador. — Sets out 
for Siberia, and travels by way of Moscow to Kazan, a town on the river 
Wolga. — Crosses the Uralian Moimtains. Some account of the city of 
Tobolsk. — Proceeds to Barnaoul and Tomsk. — Desciiptions of the country 
and the inhabitants — Character and condition of the exiles at Tomsk. — 
Fossil bones. — Curious mounds and tombs of the ancient natives. — 
Arrives at Irkutsk. 173 



CHAPTER IX. 

Residence at Irkutsk. — Miscellaneous remarks on the inhabitants, and the 
productions of the countr}'. — Accounts of the Tartars. — Unsuccessful at- 
tempts to civilize them. — Fur trade on the American coast. — Visit to the 
Lake Baikal. — Further remarks on the character and manners of the Kal- 
muks and other Tartars. — Leaves Irkutsk for the river Lena. — Scenery 
around the Baikal. — Rivers flowing into it. — Extraordinary depth of its 
waters.— They are fresh, but contain seals, and fish, peculiar to the 
ocean. — Estimate of the number of rivers in Siberia, and of the quantity 
of water they pour into the Frozen Ocean. — Ledyard proceeds down the 
Lena in a bateau. — Romantic scenery along the margin of the river. — 
Hospitality of the inhabitants. — Ends his voyage at Yakutsk. - - 208 



CHAPTER X. 

Interview with the Commandant at Yakutsk. — Stopped at this place on ac- 
count of the advanced state of the season. — His severe disappointment 
at this event. — Detained under false pretences. — Takes up his residence 
in Yakutsk for the winter. — Elephant's bones on the banks of the Lena, 
and in other parts of the countiy. — General remarks on the various tribes 
of Tartars in Siberia. — Characteristics of savages in cold and warm cli- 
mates. — Kahnuks have two modes of writing. — Their manner of living. — 
The Yakuti Tartars. — Influence of religion upon them. — The love of free- 
dom common to all the Tartars. — Their dwellings. — Intermarriages be- 
tween the Russians and Tartars. — In what degree the color of descend- 
ants is affected by such intermarriages. — Peculiarities of features in the 
Tartar countenance. — Form and use of the Tartar pipe. — Dress. — DifB- 



CONTENTS. XI 

culty of taking vocabularies of unknown languages. — Marriage ceremo- 
nies. — Notions of theology. — Practice of scalping. — Wampum. — Classifi- 
cation of the Tartars and North American Indians. — Language a criterion 
forjudging of the affinity between the different races of men. — Causes of 
the difference of color in the human race. — Tartars and American Indians 
the same people. 227 



CHAPTER XI. 

Climate in Siberia. — Extreme cold. — Congelation of quicksilver. — Images in 
Russian houses. — Attention paid to dogs. — Ice windows. — Jealousy of 
the Russians. — Moral condition of the Russians in Siberia. — Ledyard's 
celebrated eulogy on women. — Captain Billings meets him at Yakutsk, 
on his return from the Frozen Ocean. — Bering's discovery of the strait 
called after his name. — Russian voyages of discover}^ — Bering's death. — 
Russian fur trade. — Billings's expedition. — His incompetency to the un- 
dertaking. — His instructions nearly the same as those drawn up by Peter 
the Great for Bering. — Some of their principal features enumerated. - 25S 

CHAPTER XII. 

Ledyard departs from Yakutsk, and returns to Irkutsk up the Lena on the ice. — 
Is seized by order of the Empress, and hurried off in the charge of two 
guards. — Returns through Siberia to Kazan. — His remarks on the pe- 
culiarity of his fate. — Further observations on the Tartars. — No good 
account of them has ever been written. — Passes Moscow and arrives in 
Poland. — Left by his guards, with an injunction never to appear again in 
Russia. — Health much impaired by his sufferings. — Proceeds to Konigs- 
berg, and thence to London. — Inquiry into the motives of the Empress 
for her cruel treatment of him. — Her pretences of humanity not to be 
credited. — Her declaration to Count Segur on the subject. — Dr Clarke's 
explanation incorrect. — The true cause was the jealousy of the Russian 
American Fur Company, by whose influence his recall was procured 
from the Empress. — Lafayette's remark on her conduct in this particular, 273 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Interview with Sir Joseph Banks in London. — Engages to travel in Africa 
under the auspices of the African Association. — Remarkable instance of 
decision of character. — Letter to Dr Ledyard, containing miscellaneous 
particulars respecting his travels and circumstances. — Description of his 
Siberian dresses. — Origin and purposes of the African Association. — An- 
cient and present state of Africa. — Benefits of discoveries in that conti- 
nent. — Letter from Ledyard to his mother. — His remarks to Mr Beaufoy 
on his departvu'e for Egypt. — Visits Mr Jefferson and Lafayette in Paris. — 



Xll CONTENTS. 

Sails from Marseilles to Alexandria in Egypt. — Description of Alexandria, 
in a letter to Mr Jefferson. — Arrives in Cairo. — Description of the city, 
and of his passage up the Nile. 2S9 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Remarks on the appearance of the counti-y in passing up the Nile. — Con- 
dition of a Christian at Cairo. — Interview with the Aga. — Miscellaneous 
observations on the customs of the Arabs, and other races of people found 
in Cairo. — Information respecting the interior of Africa. — Visit to the cara- 
vans and slave markets. — The traveller's reflections on his circumstances 
and prospects. — His last letter to Mr Jefterson. — Joins a caravan and pre- 
pares to depart for Sennaar. — He is taken suddenly ill. — His death. — 
Account of his person and character. 30S 



ERRATA. 

Page 140, line 20, before Cadiz 'msevt from. 
" 178, '•' 2, and in several instances aftenvards. lor Langhorn read 
Lnnsborn. 



THE 



LIFE AND TRAVELS 



JOHN LEDYARD. 



CHAPTER L 

Birth and parentage. — Early education. — Begins the study of the law. — Enters 
Dartmouth College with a view to qualify liimself to be a missionary among 
the Indians. — State of the Indian missions at that time. — His fondness for 
theatrical exhibitions while at College. — Travels among the Indians of the 
Six Nations. — His return to College, and adventure in visiting a mountain. 
Constructs a canoe at Dartmouth College with his own hands, and descends the 
Connecticut river in it alone to Hartford. — Dangers of the passage. — His sin- 
gular appearance when he met his friends. — His enterprise compared, to 
that of Mungo Park on the Niger. 

John Ledyard, the celebrated traveller, was born 
in the year 1751. at Groton, in Connecticut, a small 
village on the bank of the river Thames, opposite to 
New London. The place of his birth is but a few 
hundred yards from Fort Griswold, so well known in 
the history of the American revolution. 

His grandfather, named also John Ledyard, came 
in early life to America, and settled at Southold, Long 
Island, as a small trader in dry goods. He was a na- 
tive of Bristol, England, and had been bred a mer- 
chant in London. Being prosperous in business at 
1 



2 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Southold, he was soon married to a lady of amiable 
qualities and good fortune, the daughter of Judge 
Young, a gentleman of character and influence in 
that place. From Southold he removed to Groton, 
where he purchased an estate, and resided many years. 
He had ten children, and after the death of his 
wife he removed to Hartford, in Connecticut, 
.and there spent the remainder of his life. For his 
second wife he married Mrs Ellery, a respectable 
widow lady of Boston. 

To his eldest son, who had the same name as him- 
self, he gave the estate at Groton. He was a sea 
captain, engaged in tho West India trade, a man of 
sound understanding, vigorous constitution, and indus- 
trious habits. But he died at the age of thirtyfive, 
leaving a widow and four children, three sons and 
one daughter, of whom the subject of this memoir 
was the eldest. Colonel William Ledyard, the 
brave commander in the memorable action of 
Fort Griswold, who was slain after the capitula- 
tion, was the second son. 

It thus appears, that John Ledyard, the traveller, 
was the third of that name in lineal descent. His 
mother, who was the daughter of Robert Hempsted 
of Southold, has been described as a lady of many 
excellencies of mind and character, beautiful in per- 
son, well informed, resolute, generous, amiable, kind, 
and above all eminent for piety and the religious vir- 
tues. Such a mother is the best gift of Heaven to 
a family of helpless young children. In the present 
instance all her courage and all her strength of char- 
acter were necessary, to carry her through the duties 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. S 

and trials, which devolved upon her. The small 
estate, which had belonged to her husband in Groton, 
was, by some strange neglect of her friends, or crimi- 
nal fraud never yet explained, taken from her soon 
after his death. During a visit to Long Island, the 
deed, which she had left with a confidential person, 
disappeared. As this deed was the only evidence of 
her title to the property, and her claim could not be 
substantiated without it, the whole reverted to its 
former owner, her husband's father, who was still 
living. The particulars of this transaction are not 
now known, nor is it necessary to inquire into them. 
It is enough to state the fact that such an event occur- 
red, and that the widowed mother with four infant 
children was thus thrown destitute upon the world. 
In this condition she and her children repaired to the 
house of her father in Southold, where they found pro- 
tection and support. The estate at Groton after- 
wards fell into the hands of Colonel William Ledyard. 
It may be supposed, that misfortune did not weak- 
en her parental solicitude, nor make her neglectful of 
her high trust. The education of her children was 
the absorbing object of her thoughts and exertions. 
Her eldest son was now of an age to receive impres- 
sions, that would become deeply wrought into his 
mind, and give a decided bias to his future character. 
In the marked features of his eventful life, eccentric 
and extraordinary as it was, full of temptations, cross- 
es, and sufferings, may often be traced lineaments of 
virtues, and good impulses, justly referred to such a 
source, to the early cares and counsels of a judicious, 
sensible, and pious mother. Nor were these counsels 



4 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

scattered in a vacant mind, nor these cares wasted on 
a cold heart ; in his severest disappointments and pri- 
vations, in whatever clime or among whatever people, 
whether contending with the fierce snows of Siberia, 
or the burning sands of Africa, the image of his moth- 
er always came with a beam of joy to his soul, and 
was cherished there with delight. Such of his 
letters to her, as have been preserved, are written 
with a tenderness of filial affection, that could flow 
only from an acute sensibility and a good heart. 

A few years after leaving Groton, and settling at 
Southold, Mrs Ledyard was married to a second hus- 
band, Dr Moore of the latter place. At this time her 
son John was taken into the family of his grandfather 
at Hartford, who, from that period, seems to have 
considered him as wholly under his charge. Tradi- 
tion tells of peculiarities in his manners and habits at 
this early age, of acts indicating the bent of his genius, 
and the romantic disposition, that gave celebrity to 
his after life. But no record of his schoolboy adven- 
tures has come down to us, and we are left to conjec- 
ture in what manner the wild spirits of a youth like 
his would exhibit themselves. He attended the 
grammar school in Hartford, it is to be presumed, 
with commendable proficiency, since he was at first 
designed for the profession of the law. Several 
months were passed by him as a student in the office 
of Mr Thomas Seymour, a respectable lawyer of that 
place, who had married his aunt. Meantime his 
grandfather died, and Mr Seymour became his guar- 
dian, and took him to his own house. Whether Led- 
yard turned his thoughts to the law by his voluntary 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 5 

choice, or by the advice and wishes of his friends, who 
desired to quiet his temper, by fixing him in some 
settled pursuit, is not related ; most probably the lat- 
ter, for it was soon manifest, that neither the profound 
wisdom, the abstruse learning, nor the golden prom- 
ises of the law, had any charms for him. It was 
decided without reluctance on his part, therefore, 
that he should leave the path, which he had 
found so intricate, and in which he had made so 
little progress, and enter upon one more congenial 
to his inclination, and presenting objects more attrac- 
tive to his taste and fancy. 

Here was a difficult point to be determined. The 
pursuit, which would accord best with the propensities, 
temperament, and wishes of John Ledyard, and best 
promote his future usefulness and success, was a thing 
not to be decided, even at that time of his life, by the 
common rules of judging in such cases ; it was a prelim- 
inary, which no one probably would have been more 
perplexed than himself to establish. Never was he ac- 
customed to look forward with unwavering predilec- 
tions, to prepare for contingencies, or to mark out a 
course from which he would not stray. To be seeking 
some distant object, imposing and attractive in his own 
conceptions, and to move towards it on the tide of cir- 
cumstances, through perils and difficulties, was among 
the chief pleasures of his existence. On enterprises, 
in which no obstacles were to be encountered, no 
chances to be run, no disappointments to be appre- 
hended, no rewards of hazardous adventure to be 
looked for, he bestowed not a thought ; but let a pro- 
ject be started, thickly beset with dangers, and prom- 



b LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

ising success only through toils and sufferings, deeds 
of courage, and the resolute efforts of an untiring 
spirit, and not a man would grasp at it so eagerly, or 
pursue it with so much intenseness of purpose. The 
wholesome maxim of providing for the morrow rarely 
found a place in his ethics or his practice ; and as he 
never allowed himself to anticipate misfortunes, so he 
never took any pains to guard against them. 

He was now at the age of nineteen, with very 
narrow means, few friends, and no definite prospects. 
In this state of his affairs, as it was necessary for 
something to be done, he was compelled to look 
around him, and for a moment to exercise that fore- 
sight, which the tenor of his life proves him to have 
been so reluctant on most occasions to call to his aid. 
And, after all, he was more indebted to accident, than 
to his own deliberations, for the immediate events, 
that awaited him. Dr Wheelock, the amiable and 
pious founder of Dartmouth College, had been the in- 
timate friend of his grandfather, and prompted by the 
remembrance of this tie, he invited Ledyard to enter 
his institution, recently established at Hanover, New 
Hampshire, amidst the forests on the banks of the 
Connecticut river. This offer was accepted, and 
in the spring of 1772, he took up his residence at 
this new seat of learning, with the apparent inten- 
tion of qualifying himself to become a missionary 
aniong the Indians. 

His mother's wishes and advice had probably much 
influence in guiding him to this resolution. In accord- 
ance with the religious spirit of that day, she felt a 
strong compassion for the deplorable state of the 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 7 

Indians, and it was among her earliest and fondest 
hopes of this her favorite son, that he would be edu- 
cated as a missionary, and become an approved instru- 
ment in the hands of Providence to bring these de- 
graded and suffering heathen to a knowledge of a pure 
religion, and the blessings of civilized life. When she 
saw this door opened for the realizing of her hopes, 
and her son placed under the charge of the most 
eminent laborer of his day in the cause of the Indians, 
her joy was complete. 

From the first settlement of the country much zeal 
and much disinterested philanthropy have been exer- 
cised, in attempts to convert the Indians to Christianity, 
and induce them to adopt the manners and partici- 
pate the comforts of civilized men. Eliot (rightly 
named the apostle of the Indians), and the May hews, 
are entitled to the praises, which succeeding times 
have bestowed on them ; and the efforts of the Society 
in Great Britain for propagating the Gospel in foreign 
parts, were prompted by motives of the noblest kind, 
and were bestowed with an ardor and with sacrifices, 
that demand a generous tribute from the pen of histo- 
ry, and the grateful remembrance of posterity. For 
many years little had been done, however, till the 
popular talents and fervent zeal of David Brainerd 
caused the journals of his missionary tours to be read 
throughout the country, his labors applauded, and his 
success regarded as an evidence of the great work, 
that might be wrought by the use proper of means. 

About this time the Reverend Eleazer Wheelock, 
who was then a settled clergyman in Lebanon, Con- 
necticut, formed the scheme of an Indian School, 



O LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

which should have the double object of preparing 
young preachers for the missionary field, and of edu- 
cating Indian youth, who should return to their tribes, 
and become teachers among their own people. With- 
out show or ostentation Dr Wheelock commenced 
the school at his own house, and almost at his own 
charge. He began with two pupils, one of whom 
was Sampson Occum, an Indian of the Mohegan tribe, 
afterwards so much celebrated as a preacher, and for 
his instructions to the Indians. The school gradually 
increased, and so benevolent an undertaking, pursued 
with such singleness of purpose, could not fail to 
attract public notice and approbation. He was aided 
by contributions from individuals, and tlv3 province of 
Massachusetts voted to pay, for a certain time, the 
expense of educating six Indian children. Mr Joshua 
Moor, who owned lands in Lebanon, gave a portion 
of them for the benefit of this school, and from this 
circumstance, the seminary for the education of In- 
dian boys, afterwards attached to Dartmouth College, 
was called Moor^s Indian School. 

But Dr Wheelock still found, that pupils from the 
forest flocked to him faster, than he could provide for 
them. He thought it now time to adopt the expedient 
of sending to England, and soliciting assistance from 
the wealthy and charitable on the other side of the 
water. For this object Sampson Occum, and another 
clergyman, were sent out as agents, furnished with 
testimonials of their character, and certificates of ap- 
probation from eminent persons in the colonies. Oc- 
cum was looked upon as a wonder in England. He 
was the first Indian preacher from North America, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 9 

that ever had been seen m the Old World ; wherever 
he went crowds gathered around him, and it has been 
the lot of few speakers to address audiences so throng- 
ed. A North American Indian in a pulpit, eloquently 
preaching in the English tongue, was a phenomenon 
too nearly miraculous to pass unseen or unheard. It 
was said, moreover, that he exhibited in his person and 
character, a practical example of w^hat might be done 
with Indians, when fairly brought under the influence 
of instruction. All this was highly favorable to the 
great ends of the mission, and in a few months a sub- 
scription was obtained, and money paid to the amount 
of nearly ten thousand pounds. The king gave two 
hundred pounds, and several gentlemen one hundred 
each. The money was deposited in the hands of trus- 
tees in England, and drawn out as occasion required. 
With this addition to his resources, Dr Wheelock began 
to think of enlarging the plan of his school, and 
removing nearer to the frontiers, both to diminish 
the expense of living, and to be nearer the Indians. 
After examining several situations, he selected Hano- 
ver, then almost a wilderness, to which place he 
removed in 1770, cut away the trees, and erected the 
the institution, which he called Dartmouth College, in 
honor of Lord Dartmouth, who had manifested zeal 
and liberality in collecting the Indian fund in England. 
To this college, about two years after it was found- 
ed, Ledyard resorted to prepare himself for the 
arduous office of a missionary among the Indians. 
The nature of a missionary's life at that time, 
and the prospects of the young candidate for such 
a station, may be fully realized by a perusal of the 
2 



10 , LIFE QF JOHN LEDYARD. 

letters from the Reverend Samuel Kirkland to Dr 
Wheelock, written previously to the removal from 
Lebanon. Mr Kirkland was a graduate of Nassau 
Hall, in New Jersey, and when qualified for the minis- 
try, he undertook a mission to the Seneca Indians, the 
most remote and fierce of the confederate nations. 
He continued there more than a year and a half, and 
gained the confidence of some of the chief persons of 
the tribe ; but so general was the aversion to the 
whites, and to the arts of civilized life, that after a 
thorough experiment, he despaired of any such success 
as would be adequate to the sacrifices he must make, 
and the sufferings he must endure. Leaving the 
Senecas, therefore, he next proceeded to the Oneidas, 
with whom he took up a permanent residence. Here 
poverty, and famine, and wretchedness stared him in 
the face.* Nor were these the worst evils, with 

* During the first year of his sojourning with his tribe (1767), he 
wrote to Dr Wheelock as follows. 

" I am distressed to know what to do ; the present poverty of these 
people cries aloud for the charity of God's people ; two years ago their 
corn was cut off by the frost, last year destroyed by the vermin, and 
worms threaten the destruction of one half of the present crop. Many 
of them for a month past have eat but once a day, and yet continue to 
v/ork. From week to week I am obliged to go eeling with the Indians 
at Oneida Lake for my subsistence. I have feasted and starved with 
them, as their luck depends on wind and weather. If it shoidd be 
asked, why they do not support me, the answer is ready, They can- 
not support themselves. They are now half starved. Some of them 
have no more than two quarts of corn. I fear my appearing in such a 
servile, beggarly manner will very much disserve the design in -vaew; 
but I must desist, must go down to the lake for eels this day, and. 
return tomorrow to hill my corn and potatoes." 

Again a few weeks afterwards he wrote, " Through the tender mer- 
cies of God, I enjoy some degree of health, amidst aU my troubles and 
distresses, though my strength begins to fail. I cannot subsist long 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 1 1 

which he was obliged to contend. The capricious 
temper and furious passions of the savages, especially 
when intoxicated, frequently put his life in jeopardy, 
and kept him in a state of unceasing alarm. All these 
things were endured by Mr Kirkland with a christian 
fortitude, which nothing but a deep sense of the sacred 
nature of his duties could have enabled him to maintain. 
He triumphed at last ; he lived many years with the 
Oneidas, and had the satisfaction to see, that his toils 
were not fruitless. The Indians revered him as a 
father ; they had the wisdom to respect and some- 
times to follow his counsels ; a visible change took 
place in their character and modes of life ; the rough 
features of the savage vi^ere softened, famine and want 
chased away, and the comforts of life multiplied. 
These advantages the sons of the forest saw and felt. 
No man has ever been more successful than Mr 
Kirkland in improving the condition of the Indians, 
and to the last day of his life, he continued to receive 
from them earnest demonstrations of affection and 
gratitude.* 

without relief. I have ate no flesh in my own house for near eight 
weeks. Flour and milk with a few eels have been my living. Such 
diet, with my hard labor abroad, doth not satisfy nature. My poor 
people are almost starved to death. I am grieved to the heart for 
them. There is one family, consisting of four, I must support after my 
fashion, till squashes come on, or they must perish. They have had 
nothing these ten days, but what I have given them. They have only 
each an old blanket not worth sixpence, wherewith to buy anything ; 
and begging here at this season would be a very poor business. I 
would myself be glad of the opportunity to fall on my knees for such a 
bone as I have often seen cast to the dogs." 

* In speaking of this subject, the name of John Thornton should not 
be forgotten. He was a wealthy English gentleman, who was active 
in procuring donations to the Indian fund, and himself a large contribu- 



12 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

To this brief sketch it is hardly necessary to add, 
that when the revokitionary war came on, a check 
was given to the designs of the benevolent in behalf 
of the Indians. They engaged in the strife, which 
had been kindled by their white neighbors, and the 
voice of the missionary was silenced by the war 
whoop, and the din of battle. Many of Dr Whee- 
lock's Indian pupils, having gone through a regular 
course of instruction, had returned to their homes, 
and were beginning to scatter the light they had re- 
ceived ; but their influence was lost amidst the rav- 
ages of war. Much was it to be lamented, that the 
agency of a school, to which Dr Wheelock had de- 
voted the years of a long and toilsome life, and which 
had awakened a lively interest in the friends of 
humanity, should be so soon brought to an end, and 
nothing be seen in the result but a melancholy waste 
of time, talents, and money. 

Such was the condition of a missionary among the 
Indians, and such the origin and purpose of the Insti- 
tution, to which Ledyard resorted for an education, 
which should qualify him to enter upon his destined 
task. Not many memorials remain of his college life. 
The whole time of his residence at Dartmouth was not 
more than one year, and during that period he was 
absent three months and a half, rambling among the 
Indians. A classmate still living recollects, that he 

tor ; he gave Sampson Occum a pension of one hundred dollars a 
year, sent private aid to Dr Wheelock and Mr Kirkland, wrote them 
frequent letters of encouragement, and was never weary, either by 
personal exertions or charitable gifts, of promoting the cause of Indian 
Missions. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 13 

had then some amusing singularities, was cheerful and 
gay in conversation, winning in his address, and a 
favorite with his fellow students. His journey from 
Hartford to Hanover was performed in a sulkey, the 
first vehicle of the kind, that had ever been seen on 
Dartmouth plain, and it attracted curiosity not more 
from this circumstance, than from the odd appearance 
of the equipage. Both the horse and the sulkey gave 
evident tokens of having known better days ; and 
the dress of their owner was peculiar, bidding equal 
defiance to symmetry of proportions and the fashion 
of the times. In addition to the traveller's own 
weight, this ancient vehicle was burdened with a 
quantity of calico for curtains, and other articles to 
assist in theatrical exhibitions, of which he was very 
fond. From the character of this outfit we may con- 
clude, that he did not intend time should pass on heavy 
wings at Dartmouth. Considering the newness of the 
country, the want of bridges, and the bad state of the 
roads, this jaunt in a crazy sulkey was thought to in- 
dicate no feeble spirit of enterprise. The journey 
might have been performed with much more ease and 
expedition on horseback, but in that case his theatrical 
apparatus must have been left behind. 

As a scholar at college he was respectable, but not 
over-diligent ; he acquired knowledge with facility, 
and could make quick progress, when he chose, but 
he was impatient under discipline, and thought nothing 
more irksome, than to go by compulsion to a certain 
place at certain times, and tread from day to day the 
same dull circle of the chapel, the recitation room, the 
commons hall, and the study. It is not affirmed, that 



14 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

he ever ventured to set up any direct hostility to the 
powers that ruled, but he sometimes demeaned him- 
self in a manner, that must take from him the praise 
of a shining example of willing subordination. In 
those primitive times the tones of a bell had not been 
heard in the forests of Dartmouth, and the students 
were called together by the sound of a conch-shell, 
which was blown in turn by the freshmen, Ledyard 
was indignant at being summoned to this duty, and 
it was his custom to perform it w'ith a reluctance 
and in a manner corresponding to his sense of the 
degradation. 

The scenic materials, brought with so much pains 
from Hartford, were not suffered to lie useless. The 
calico was manufactured into curtains, a stage was 
fitted up, and plays w^ere acted, in which our hero 
personated the chief characters. Cato was among 
the tragedies brought out upon his boards, and in this 
he acted the part of old Syphax, w^earing a long grey 
beard, and a dress suited to his notion of the costume 
of a Numidian prince. His tragedies were doubtless 
comedies to the audience, but they all answered his 
purpose of amusement, and of introducing a little 
variety into the sober tenor of a student's life. At 
this period he was much addicted to reading plays, and 
his passion for the drama probably stole away many 
hours, that might have been more profitably employed 
in preparing to exhibit himself before his tutors. 

He had not been quite four months in college, when 
he suddenly disappeared without previous notice to 
his comrades, and apparently without permission from 
the president. The full extent of his travels during 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 15 

his absence cannot now be known, but he is under- 
stood to have wandered to the borders of Canada, 
and among the Six Nations. It is certain, that he 
acquired in this excursion a knowledge of Indian 
manners and Indian language, which was afterwards 
of essential service to him in his intercourse with 
savages in various parts of the world. His main 
object probably was to take a cursoi;y survey of the 
missionary ground, which he was contemplating as the 
theatre of his future career, and, judging from what 
followed, we may suppose that this foretaste put an 
end to all his anticipations. Nothing more is heard of 
his missionary projects, although it is not clear at what 
time he absolutely abandoned them. When three 
months and a half had expired, he returned to college 
and resumed his studies. 

If his dramatic performances were not revived, as it 
would seem they were not, his erratic spirit did not 
sink into a lethargy for want of expedients to keep it 
alive. In midwinter, when the ground was covered 
with deep snow, Ledyard collected a party whom 
he persuaded to accompany him to the summit of a 
neighbouring mountain, and there pass the night. Dr 
Wheelock consented to the project, as his heart was 
bent on training up the young men to be missionaries 
among the Indians, and he was willing they should 
become inured to hardships, to which a life among 
savages would frequently expose them. The projec- 
tor of the expedition took the lead of his volunteers, 
and conducted them by a pathless route through the 
thickets of a swamp and forests, till they reached the 
top of the mountain, just in time to kindle a fire, and 



16 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

arrange their encampment on the snow before it was 
dark. The night, as may be supposed, was dreary 
and sleepless to most of the party, and few were they 
who did not greet the dawn with gladness. Their 
leader was alert, prompt at his duty, and pleased with 
his success. The next day, they returned home, all 
perfectly satisfied, unless it were Ledyard, with this 
single experiment of their hardihood, without being 
disposed to make another similar trial. He had a 
propensity for climbing mountains, as will be seen 
hereafter, when we meet him at the Sandwich 
Islands. 

After abandoning his missionary schemes he began 
to grow weary of college, and the more so, probably, 
as his unsettled habits now and then drew from the 
president a salutary admonition on the importance of 
a right use of time, and a regard for the regulations of 
the establishment. Such hints he conceived to be an 
indignity, and fancied himself ill treated. That there 
was value in rules of order and discipline he did not 
pretend to deny, but seemed at a loss to imagine 
why they should apply to him. That the whole sub- 
ject might be put at rest, without involving any puz- 
zling questions of casuistry, he resolved to escape. 

On the margin of the Connecticut river, which runs 
near the college, stood many majestic forest trees, 
nourished by a rich soil. One of these Ledyard con- 
trived to cut down. He then set himself at work to 
fashion its trunk into a canoe, and in this labor he was 
assisted by some of his fellow students. As the 
canoe was fifty feet long and three wide, and was to be 
dug out and constructed by these unskilful workmen, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 17 

the task was not a trifling one, nor such as could be 
speedily executed. Operations were carried on with 
spirit, however, till Ledyard wounded himself with 
an axe, and was disabled for several days. When 
recovered he applied himself anew to his work ; the 
canoe was finished, launched into the stream, and, by 
the further aid of his companions, equipped and pre- 
pared for a voyage. His wishes were now at their 
consummation, and, bidding adieu to these haunts of 
the muses, where he had gained a dubious fame, he 
set off alone with a light heart to explore a river, 
with the navigation of which he had not the slightest 
acquaintance. The distance to Hartford was not less 
than one hundred and forty miles, much of the way 
was through a wilderness, and in several places there 
were dangerous falls and rapids. 

With a bearskin for a covering, and his canoe well 
stocked with provisions, he yielded himself to the 
current, and floated leisurely down the stream, seldom 
using his paddle, and stopping only in the night for 
sleep. He told Mr Jefferson in Paris, fourteen years 
afterwards, that he took only two books with him, a 
Greek Testament, and Ovid, one of which he was 
deeply engaged in reading when his canoe approached 
Bellows's Falls, where he was suddenly roused by the 
noise of the waters rushing among the rocks through 
the narrow passage. The danger was imminent, as 
no boat could go down that fall without being in- 
stantly dashed in pieces. With difficulty he gained the 
shore in time to escape such a catastrophe, and through 
the kind assistance of the people in the neighbourhood, 
who were astonished at the novelty of such a voyage 
3 



18 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

down the Connecticut, his canoe was drawn by oxen 
around the fall, and committed again to the water be- 
low. From that time, till he arrived at his place of 
destination, we hear of no accident, although he was 
carried through several dangerous passes in the river. 
On a bright spring morning, just as the sun was rising, 
some of Mr Seymour's family were standing near his 
house on the high bank of the small river, that runs 
through the city of Hartford, and empties itself into the 
Connecticut river, when they espied at some distance 
an object of unusual appearance moving slowly up the 
stream. Others were attracted by the singularity of 
the sight, and all were conjecturing what it could be, 
till its questionable shape assumed the true and ob- 
vious form of a canoe ; but by what impulse it was 
moved forward none could determine. Something 
was seen in the stern, but apparently without life or 
motion. At length the canoe touched the shore 
directly in front of the house ; a person sprang from 
the stern to a rock in the edge of the water, threw off 
a bearskin in which he had been enveloped, and be- 
hold John Ledyard, in the presence of his uncle and 
connexions, who were filled with wonder at this sud- 
den apparition, for they had received no intelligence 
of his intention to leave Dartmouth, but supposed him 
still there diligently pursuing his studies, and fitting 
himself to be a missionary among the Indians. 

However unimportant this whimsical adventure may 
have been in its results, or even its objects, it was one 
of no ordinary peril, and illustrated in a forcible man- 
ner the character of the navigator. The voyage was 
performed in the last part of April or first of May, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 19 

and of course the river was raised by the recent 
melting of the snow on the mountains. This 
circumstance probably rendered the rapids less dan- 
gerous, but it may be questioned whether there are 
many persons at the present day, who would willingly 
run the same hazard, even if guided by a pilot skilled 
in the navigation of the river. 

We cannot look back to Ledyard, thus launching 
himself alone in so frail a bark upon the waters of a 
river wholly unknown to him, without being reminded 
of the only similar occurrence, which has been record- 
ed, the voyage down the river Niger by Mungo Park, 
a name standing at the very head of those most re- 
nowned for romantic and lofty enterprise. The 
melancholy fate, it is true, by which he was soon 
arrested in his noble career, adds greatly to the inter- 
est of his situation when pushing from the shore his 
little boat Joliba, and causes us to read his last affect- 
ing letter to his wife with emotions of sympathy more 
intense if possible, than would be felt if the tragical 
issue were not already known. In many points of 
character there was a strong resemblance between 
these two distinguished travellers, and they both per- 
ished martyrs in the same cause, attempting to explore 
the hidden regions of Africa. 



20 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 



CHAPTER II. 

His singular letters to President Wheelock. — Commences the study of theology, 
— His embarrassments on this occasion. — Visits several clergymen on Long 
Island, and piu-sues his studies there for a short time. — Proposes teaching 
a school. — Returns to Connecticut, and meets with disappointment in his 
hopes of being settled as a clergyman. — Abandons his purpose of studying 
divinity. — Sails from New London on a voyage to Gibraltar. — Enlists there 
as a soldier into the regular sei-vice. — Released by the solicitation of the cap- 
tain of the vessel in which he sailed. — Rettims home by way of the Barbary 
Coast and the West Indies. — Resolves to visit England, and seek for his 
wealthy family connexions in that country. — Sails fiom New York to 'Ply- 
mouth. — Travels thence to London in extreme poverty. — Realizes none of his 
expectations. — Enlists in the naval service. — Gains an acquaintance with 
Captain Cook, and embarks with him on his last voyage roimd the world, in 
the capacity of corporal of marines. 

As Ledyard left Hanover when Dv Wheelock was 
absent, this was probably seized upon by him as a fit 
opportunity for taking his departure. A few days 
after his arrival in Hartford, his uncle thought proper 
to show him some of Dr Wheelock's letters, in which 
were very just complaints of his conduct, his disregard 
of discipline, and particularly his thoughtless waste of 
the small means he possessed, which his friends flat- 
tered themselves might, with good economy, be made 
to pay the expenses of his education. These letters of 
the president were apparently written not so much by 
way of accusation, as to vindicate himself from any 
charge of neglect that might be made against him, 
on account of the ill success of his eflbrts to manage a 
young man, whom he had no other motive for taking 
under his particular care, than good will for the 
grandson of his deceased friend, and regard for 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 21 

his family. Ledyard was much incensed at these 
letters, and replied to them mider the impulse of 
feelings not the most kindly or respectful. From his 
nature he was extremely impatient of reproach, and 
ever deemed it an unpardonable offence in any one to 
question his motives, or insinuate that he could act 
deliberately and intentionally wrong. His foibles he 
could bear to have touched with a gentle hand, but no 
one ventured a suspicion of his integrity, or of the kind- 
ness of his heart, with impunity. He often lamented 
the failure of purposes caused by his fondness for 
change and love of adventure ; but at no time did he 
allow himself to think, that he was not pursuing great 
and worthy objects, and such as would redound to his 
honor, and the good of mankind. With this disposi- 
tion, and this confidence in himself, it was natural 
that he should sometimes regard the opinions, which 
others entertained of his conduct, with stronger feel- 
ings of disapprobation, than the merits of the case 
required. In reading the following extracts from a 
a letter to Dr Wheelock, these particulars should be 
kept in mind ; and it should moreover be remembered, 
that, whether right or wrong, he really fancied himself 
not well treated at Dartmouth. 

" When I sit down to write," says he, " I know not 
where to begin, or where to end, or what to say, 
especially since I have the contents of two of your 
letters concerning my affairs. What do I see ? Who 
is this that assumes the port of compassion, kindness, 
benevolence, charity, and writes as he writes ? You 
begin, sir, with a surprise, that my legacy was so 
much exhausted. Justly might you, sir, but not more 



ZZ LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

SO than my unfortunate self; and if truth has not 
turned liar, if any protestations, any declarations of 
honesty, uprightness, or anything else can avail, I 
now, under the most sacred obligations, bond jide 
declare I was not aware of it ; and when I saw the 
letters and account, I was so much ashamed of my 
inadvertency, and so justly culpable before you, that 
I could not compose myself to come before you, and 
answer for my misconduct. But from that moment, 
with much anxiety and care, I studied to remedy the 
matter. This I declare was- the honest purpose of 
my heart ; and to make you reparation still is ; and, 
under Heaven, you shall say you are satisfied. Then, 
sir, you say, a little after, that you could have no confi- 
dence in me, after the character given of me by Mr 
Seymour. I am sorry, sir, you could not. 

" I take what you have said, in regard to my pride, 
very ill-natured, very unkind in you. So far as I 
know myself, I came to your college under influences 
of the good kind, whether you, sir, believe it or not. 
The acquaintance I have gained there is dearer than 
I can possibly express. Farewell, dear Dartmouth. 
Doctor, my heart is as pure as the new fallen snow. 
Farewell, and may the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, bless you and yours. I am, honored and rev- 
erend sir, though sorely beset, your obliged and duti- 
ful young servant." 

Here end all the particulars, which have come to 
my knowledge, respecting Ledyard's college life. 
He next appears before us in the character of a stu- 
dent in divinity. Within a month after mooring his 
canoe at the river's bank in Hartford, he is found at 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 23 

Preston, in Connecticut, advising with the reverend 
Mr Hart, a clergyman of that town, on the subject of 
his theological studies and prospects, and also with the 
reverend Dr Bellamy, at that time a preacher of wide 
fame in Connecticut. Both of these clergymen gave 
him such encouragement, that he resolved to apply 
himself immediately to a preparation for discharging 
the sacred functions of a divine, and turn the ruffled 
tenor of his life into the quiet and grateful occupation 
of a parish minister. He speaks of his anticipations 
on this occasion with a heartiness and enthusiasm, 
which show, at least, that he imagined himself sin- 
cere, and that in the future he fancied he had only 
to look for the unalloyed blessings of tranquillity, 
competence, and peace. Such was his haste to 
realize these precious hopes, that he had not pa- 
tience to wait the usual term required of young 
candidates, who had not been graduated at a col- 
lege. To facilitate the attainment of this end, his 
advisers recommended that he should go to Long 
Island, and there pass through his initiatory studies, 
where, it was said, smaller attainments were required 
for admission to the desk ; and when once admitted, 
he might return and procure a settlement wherever 
there should be an opening. With this scheme he 
was well satisfied, and being furnished by the above 
gentlemen with suitable letters of recommendation, 
he mounted his horse and set off for Long Island, with 
the same buoyancy of spirits, as when, two months 
before, he entered his canoe at Dartmouth, and with a 
purpose much more definite, and higher expectations. 



24 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

In describing this tour I shall let him speak in his 
own language, as contained in a letter written to a 
friend at the time. 

" Equipped with my credentials, I embarked for 
Long Island. The next day I fortunately arrived at 
Southold, surprised my mother with a visit, and after 
remaining with her twenty-four hours, I rode to the 
eastward. With another recommendatory letter from 
the reverend Mr Storrs, I crossed Shelter Island ferry, 
and thence to East Hampton, where I met with a 
kind reception from the reverend Mr Buell, modera- 
tor of the Synod, an influential man, and a glorious 
preacher. Here I was introduced to a very large 
library, and, in company with another young candi- 
date, I spent about a month with intense application 
to study. But this was only an interregnum. Mr 
Buell let me know, that the presbytery here proceed 
in these matters with a perfect extreme of delibera- 
tion ; and since my circumstances were as they were, 
he advised me to comply with the dispensations of 
Providence, and seek a school, and study under some 
divine. I knew his advice to be as that from a father 
to a son, and, without a moment's hesitation, wiping 
the sweat of care from my brow, I bestrided my 
Rosinante with a mountain of grief upon my shoul- 
ders, but a good letter in my pocket. I jogged on 
groaning, but never desponding, passed to Bridgetown, 
thence to Southampton, and through many little villa- 
ges to Sataucket Quorum, then to Smithtown, Fire- 
place, Oyster Bay, and so on, visiting and making 
acquaintance with the clergy wherever I went. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 25 

" At length, after a ride of almost one hundred 
miles, by crossing the island I arrived at Huntington, 
a large town about forty miles from New York, where 
I visited the minister of the place, old Mr Prime. 
After about twelve days' feasting upon his great libra- 
ry, and a quickly made friendship with the ingenious 
Dr Prime formerly of New York, and a fruitless 
attempt to get a school, I was returning, but stopped 
to become acquainted with the excellent Irishman, the 
reverend Mr Caldwell of Elizabeth Town, and the 
popular Dr Rogers of New York ; and, after some 
cordials of consolation and encouragement, they bade 
me go on, and God speed me. They told me that the 
sufferings I met with, and the contemptuous ideas the 
people where I was born and educated had of me, 
were nothing strange, but reflected honor on me, — 
that a prophet is hardly accepted in his own country, 
and the like. 

" I returned after a very fatiguing journey to Mr 
BuelPs, and staid a short time wdth that hermit, where 
and with whom I longed to be buried in ease ; but I 
scorned to be a coward, and chose to die in front of 
battle if anywhere. We advised together anew, and 
it w^as resolved, that since I was so disappointed I 
should proceed with renewed vigor. Accordingly, 
with warm letters I came again to the continent, 
where I arrived in the evening, but thought it most 
prudent not to stop there, no, not where I was born. 
I dropped a tear upon the occasion, and rode on toward 
Preston till eleven at night, when, feeling quite ex- 
hausted, for I had been severely sea-sick, I dismount- 
ed, left my horse to graze, looked up to heaven, and 
4 



26 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

under its canopy fell asleep. The next morning I 
rode to my cousin Isaac's house, and being refreshed, I. 
advanced once more to Mr Hart's, where I was again 
handsomely and kindly received." 

Thus disappointed in his expectations on Long 
Island, his ardor were somew^hat damped, but his re- 
solution remained unshaken. He made up his mind 
to apply again to his old friends, and seek their sym- 
pathy and counsel. As they had expressed themselves 
warmly in his favor, and recommended him in flatter- 
ing terms to the Long Island clergy, he was sanguine 
in the faith, that they would not, when things came to 
an extremity, hesitate to do, on their own part, what 
they had encouraged so earnestly in their brethren. 
With some confidence, therefore, he repeated his soli- 
citations to Mr Hart. The result shall likewise be 
given in his own words. 

" We have advised together, and read the aforesaid 
letters. The amount of all is this, ' Don't be dis- 
couraged, Mr Ledyard ; you will think the better of 
fair weather after this storm. My private sentiments, 
and my public conduct in your case, are two things. 
I don't doubt one single instant of your probity and 
well-meaning. What the world does, I cannot say ; 
but as I officiate in a public character, I must deal with 
you as so officiating, and for that reason, as well as 
securing your future tranquillity in the ministry, by 
making a good beginning, I by all means advise, first, 
that you write speedily to the reverend Mr Whitman, 
and get him to write to us respecting you what he 
can, as you have lived long under him ; secondly, that 
you write also to Dartmouth, to procure a regular dis- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 27 

mission from the president. When we have these, we 
shall proceed with confidence in the face of all men, 
and not be ashamed to introduce you anywhere.' 
Now, Sir, though but very brief, I have given you an 
exact account of my situation, and the fatigues of my 
pursuits. You see what bars my sitting directly down. 
" As Dartmouth is at such a distance, the clergy 
here do not insist on a return from that place so soon 
as from Hartford, but the sooner I have an answer 
from Mr Whitman, the sooner w^ill my mind be at rest. 
There are four ministers that stand ready to advance 
me the moment this is done, among whom the famous 
Dr Bellamy is one. The clergy are very exact in 
these things, and I have sometimes thought that they 
meant to keep me humming around them till I was 
tired, and so get clear of an absolute refusal, or, as 
Dr Young expresses it, to 

Fright me, with terrors of a world unknown, 
From joys of this, to keep them all their own. 

They have found me affliction-proof, if this was their 
motive ; but I plainly see they mean it for my honor 
— and their own too. The request, in short, which I 
make of you is, that you will please to wait on Mr 
Whitman with my letter, hurry him for an answer, 
and send it to me by the earliest opportunity." 

That such an answer never came, may be inferred 
from the fact, that he was never licensed as a preach- 
er; and the judgment of his friends, the clergymen, 
is not to be so much censured in this, perhaps, as in 
the unjustifiable encouragement they held out to him. 
They could not suppose him qualified for the clerical 
office, with the limited knowledge and experience he 



28 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

possessed, and it was wrong to delude him with the 
notion, that they would under any circumstances pub- 
licly approve him as such, merely upon receiving two 
letters, which at most could testify only to his general 
character. His attainments were afterwards to be 
made. He was doubtless importunate, and Mr 
Hart and Dr Bellamy were goodnatured, but their 
kindness would have been better applied, especially 
on a mind like that of Ledyard's, if they had been 
more frank and decided in the outset. His sensibility 
was keenly touched by the disappointment, which, as 
much as anything perhaps, drove him, somewhat 
disgusted, from prosecuting his theological studies. 
That he engaged in them with considerable ardor, no 
one can doubt after reading his remarks above ; that 
he would have continued long of the same mind is not 
very likely ; but it was a mistaken exercise of bene- 
volence to foster hopes, which there was no chance of 
seeing ripened into realities, and thus enticing him into 
a profession, for which he was hardly in any one re- 
spect fitted. As a further proof, that he was in earnest 
at the beginning, it may be mentioned, that he not only 
applied himself assiduously to study, but was accus- 
tomed to declaim in the woods and retired places, 
that he might discipline his voice, and prepare himself 
for public speaking. 

But his studies in theology were of short duration. 
He was mortified at the ill success of his application to 
the clergy for being approved as a candidate, and other 
circumstances concurred to annoy and wound him. The 
effect of these on his feelings will appear in the follow- 
ing postscript to a letter, written three months after the 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 29 

one last quoted. " I send you this from Groton, even 
the little Groton, where it seems I must at last hide 
mj head, and relinquish all the glorious purposes I 
had in view. 'Tis hard. Do you not wonder that I 
still live, when there is such inquiry about the strange 
man in Hartford, when I am the mark of impertinent 
curiosity, when everything around me opposes my 
designs ? Do you not wonder, that I have my senses 
in so great a degree as to let you know, that I am as 
unmoved as my observers and opposers ? " These 
hints are enough to show that obstacles of a serious 
kind, whether imaginary or real, met him in various 
quarters, and that a weight of corroding cares hung 
upon his soul. 

But we are not left long to sympathize with him in 
his griefs. All thoughts of divinity being now aban- 
doned, he is introduced to us a few weeks afterwards 
in a totally new character, that of a sailor on board a 
vessel bound to Gibraltar. Captain Deshon, who re- 
sided in New London, and sailed from that port, had 
been his father's friend, and the hero of our narrative 
now shipped with him for a voyage to the Mediterra- 
nean. He entered as a common sailor, but was treat- 
ed by the captain rather as a friend and associate, than 
as one of the ordinary crew, and his good humour, 
suavity of manners, and comparative intelligence, 
made his company highly acceptable to all on board. 
The voyage was first to Gibraltar, next to a port on 
the Barbary coast for taking in a cargo of mules, and 
thence homeward by way of the West Indies. 

One incident only has been transmitted, as worthy 
of notice during this voyage. While the ship was 



30 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

lying at Gibraltar, Ledyard was all at once missing, 
and it was some time before anything could be heard 
of him. There came a rumor at length, that he 
was among the soldiery in the barracks. A person 
was sent to make inquiry, who descried him in the 
ranks, dressed in the British uniform, armed and 
equipped from head to foot, and carrying himself with 
a martial air and attitude, which proved that to what- 
ever vocation he might be called, he was not to be out- 
done by his comrades. Captain Deshon went to his 
quarters, and remonstrated with him for this strange 
freak, and urged him to return. He said he enlisted 
because he was partial to the service, and thought the 
profession of a soldier well suited to a man of honor 
and enterprise ; but that he would not be obstinate, 
and was willing to go back, if the captain insisted on 
it, and would procure his release. When the circum- 
stances were made known to the British commanding 
officer, he consented to release his new recruit, who 
returned on board the ship and prosecuted his voyage. 

While at Gibraltar he wrote home a very full and 
amusing account of what he saw in that place, but 
the letter has been lost. 

Within a year from the time of sailing from New 
London, the vessel anchored again in the same har- 
bor, and the only profit yielded by the voyage to our 
young adventurer was a little experience of the hard- 
ships of a sailor's life, and knowledge of the myste- 
ries of his profession. However valuable might be 
this species of gain as stock on hand for future use, 
it had no power to satisfy immediate want ; poverty 
stared him in the face ; and at the age of twenty-two 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 31 

he found himself a solitary wanderer, dependent on 
the bounty of his friends, without employment or 
prospects, having tried various pursuits and failed of 
success in all. Neither his pride, nor his sense of 
duty, would suffer him to remain in this condition one 
moment longer, than till he could devise a method of 
escape from it ; yet the peculiar frame of his mind 
and temper was such, that nothing would have been 
more idle, either in himself or any other person, than 
to think of chaining him down to any of the dull 
courses of life, to which the great mass of mankind 
are contented to resort, as the means of acquiring 
a fortune, gaining a competence, or driving want 
from the door. That he must provide for himself 
by his own efforts, was a proposition too forcibly 
impressed upon him to be denied ; but there seemed 
not a single propensity of his nature, which inclined 
him to direct these efforts in the same manner 
as other people, or to attain common ends by com- 
mon means. Poverty and privation were trifles of no 
weight with him, compared with the irksome necessity 
of walking in the same path that all the world walked 
in, and doing things as all the world had done them 
before. He thought this a very tame pursuit, unwor- 
thy of a rational man, whose soul should be fired with 
a nobler ambition. 

Entertaining such views of the objects of human 
life, it is not surprising that he should feel himself 
hanging loosely upon society, and should discover that 
while he continued without purpose and without pro- 
perty, he would exhibit slender claims to the respect 
of the community, or the confidence of his friends. 



32 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 

Their sympathy he might have, but this was a boon 
which he disdained to accept, when elicited by misfor- 
tunes springing from his own improvidence, or by 
evils which he had power to avoid. That he had no 
intention of fixing himself down in any steady occu- 
pation, is proved by a remark in a letter written from 
Gibraltar. " I allot to myself," said he, " a seven 
years' ramble more, although the past has long since 
wasted the means I possessed." Often had he heard his 
grandfather descant on his ancestors, and his wealthy 
connexions in England ; and the thought had entered 
our rambler's head, that one day it might be no unwise 
thing for him to visit these relatives, and claim alli- 
ance with them as a hopeful branch of so worthy a 
stock. In this stage of his affairs he was convinced, 
that the proper time had come, and he suffered now 
and then a bright vision to play before his fancy, of 
the happy change that would ensue, by the aid and in- 
fluence of his newly found friends in England, who 
would receive with joy so promising a member of 
their family from America. Elated with dreams like 
these, he took a hasty leave of the place of his nativi- 
ty, and the associates of his youth, and made the best 
of his way to New York, there to seek out a passage 
to the land of promise. 

The first vessel about to sail for England was bound 
to Plymouth, and in this he obtained a birth, probably 
on condition of working as a sailor. His trip to the 
Mediterranean was now to yield its fruits. On his 
arrival in Plymouth and leaving the vessel, he was re- 
duced to the extreme of want, without money in his 
pocket, or a single acquaintance to whom he could 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 33 

apply for relief. Thus situated it behoved him to 
make haste to London, where he looked for an imme- 
diate welcome and a home among the relations, whose 
wealth and virtues he had heard so much extolled by 
his grandfather. As the good fortune of the moment 
would have it, he fell in with an Irishman, a genuine 
specimen of the honesty, frankness, and good nature, 
which characterize many of the sons of Erin ; 
whose plight so exactly resembled his own, that they 
formed a mutual attachment almost as soon as they 
came in contact with each other. There is a sym- 
pathetic power in misfortune, which is heedless of 
the forms of society, and acts not by any cold rule of 
calculation. Both the travellers were pedestrians 
bound to London, both were equally destitute, having 
nothing wherewith to procure a subsistence. They 
agreed to take turns in begging on the road. In this 
manner they travelled harmoniously together, till they 
reached London, without having any reason to com- 
plain that Providence had neglected them on the way, 
or that there was a lack of generous and disinterested 
feeling in the human kind. 

Ledyard's thoughts were now gay, for although in 
beggary, he fancied that the next step would place him 
at the summit of his wishes, and open to him wide the 
door of prosperity. Had he possessed the very lamp of 
Aladdin, and been endued with the Dervise's power, he 
could not have been more confident or happy. To find 
out his relations was now his only anxiety. By acci- 
dent he saw the family name on a carriage, and he 
inquired of the coachman where the owner lived, and 
what was his occupation. The answer was, that 
5 



34 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 

he was a rich merchant, and the place of his resi- 
dence was pointed out. Our eager traveller hastened 
to the house, inquired for the occupant, and ascer- 
tained that he was not at home. A son was there, 
however, who listened to his story, but gave him soon 
to understand, that he put no faith in his representa- 
tions, as he had never heard of any such relations as 
he told of in America. He observed, moreover, that 
he resembled one of the family, who had been absent 
some years in the East Indies, and whom they were 
extremely anxious to see, assuring him, that if he 
were really the person, he would be received with 
open arms. This was a very unlucky interview, for 
nothing ever raised Ledyard's anger to so high a pitch, 
as a suspicion expressed or implied of his integrity and 
honest intentions. He seemed from that moment 
determined to prosecute his inquiry after his family 
connexions no further, but to shun all that bore the 
name. The son pressed him to remain till his father 
should return, but he abruptly left the house, and 
never went back. 

Some time afterwards, when he had gained ac- 
quaintances of respectable name in London, to whom 
he related his story, they went with it to the same 
gentleman, telling him, that the young man seemed 
honest, and they doubted not the truth of what he had 
stated. The gentleman refused at first to credit 
him, unless he would bring some written evidence. 
Upon further inquiry, however, he was better satisfied, 
and sent for Ledyard to come to his house. This in- 
vitation was declined in no very gracious manner ; and 
when money was sent to him afterwards by the same 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 35 

person, who had heard that he was m distress, he 
rejected it with great iodigoation, and commanded the 
bearer to carry it back to his master, and tell him that 
he belonged not to the race of the Ledyards. Such 
was the end of his dreams about his rich relations, and 
it must be acknowledged, that his own haughty spirit 
seems to have been the chief enemy to his success. 
He would probably have called it magnanimous self- 
respect ; and, name it as we will, since it operated 
wholly against himself, he must certainly be freed from 
any charge of mean motives, or selfish ends. 

It was just at this time, that Captain Cook was 
making preparation for his third and last voyage round 
the world. So successful had he been in his former 
expeditions, and so loud was the sound of his fame, 
that the whole country was awake to his new under- 
taking, and the general sensation was such, as to in- 
spire adventurous minds with a wish to participate in 
its glory. Nothing could more exactly accord with 
the native genius and cherished feelings of Ledyard. 
As a first step towards becoming connected with this 
expedition, he enlisted in the marine service, and then 
by his address he gained an introduction to Captain 
Cook. It may be presumed, that on an occasion of so 
much moment to him, he would set himself forward 
to the best advantage ; and he had great power in re- 
commending himself to the favor of others, whenever 
he chose to put it in action. His manly form, mild but 
animated and expressive eye, perfect self-possession, a 
boldness not obtrusive, but showing a consciousness of 
his proper dignity, an independent spirit, and a glow 
of enthusiasm giving life to his conversation and his 



36 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

whole deportment, — these were traits which could not 
escape so discriminating an eye as that of Cook ; they 
formed a rare combination peculiarly suited to the 
hardships and perils of his daring enterprise. They 
gained the confidence of the great navigator, who im- 
mediately took him into his service, and promoted him 
to be a corporal of marines. 

In this capacity he sailed from England, but tradi- 
tion reports, on what authority I know not, that he 
was in due time raised to the post of sergeant. 
That he should have been willing to undertake so 
long a voyage, in so humble a station, can be ac- 
counted for only from his burning desire to be con- 
nected with the expedition. His skill in nautical 
matters was not yet such as to qualify him for a higher 
place, even if he had been able to exhibit stronger 
pretensions through the agency and influence of 
friends. But he was in the midst of strangers, without 
any other claims to notice, than such as he presented 
in his own person. These were his only passport to 
the favor of Cook, and in relying on them no one 
was ever deceived. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 37 



CHAPTER III. 

Ledyard's journal of his voyage with Captain Cook. — Testimony in his favor hy 
by Captain Burney. — Sails for the Cape of Good Hope. — Thence to Kergue- 
len's Islands and the south of New Holland. — Character of the people on Van 
Diemen's Land. — Present state of the colony there. — Arrives in New Zea- 
land. — Account of the people, their manners and peculiarities. — Remarkable 
contrasts exhibited in their character. — Love adventure between an English 
sailor and a New Zealand girl. — Omai, the Otaheitan. — ^Vessels depart from 
New Zealand, and fall in with newly discovered islands. — Affecting story of 
three Otaheitans found on one of them. — Arrival at the Friendly Islands. — 
People of Tongataboo. — Their condition, mode of living, and amusements. — 
Ledyard passes a night with the King. — Wrestling and other athletic exercises 
described. — Fireworks exhibited by Cook. — Propensity of the natives to 
thieving. — An instance in a chief called Feenou, and the extraordinary mea- 
sures used to recover the stolen property. — Departure from Tongataboo. 

The particulars of this voyage have been so often 
repeated from the official narrative, and are so well 
known, that any formal attempt to give a connected 
series of events would be superfluous and without 
interest. I shall, therefore, chiefly confine myself to 
such incidents as came under our traveller's observa- 
tion, and to such remarks and reflections of his own, 
as indicate his opinions and the character of his mind. 
He kept a private journal of the whole voyage, but on 
the return of the expedition, before any person had 
landed, all papers of this description were taken away, 
from both officers and men, by order of the comman- 
der, and Ledyard's journal among the rest. This 
precaution was necessary to prevent an imperfect ac- 
count of the voyage going abroad, before one could be 
issued under the sanction of the admiralty. 



38 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Ledyard never recovered his papers, but when he 
returned to Hartford, more than two years after the 
termination of the voyage, his friends induced him to 
write the short account, which appeared with his 
name. To satisfy public curiosity till a complete work 
could be prepared, a very brief sketch of the voyage 
in a single volume had already been published by 
authority in England. This volume Ledyard had pro- 
cured, and he relied on it for dates, distances, the 
courses of the vessels, and for other particulars serving 
to revive his recollection of what he had experienced 
and witnessed. Extracts are made without alteration 
in two or three instances, and several of the last 
pages are literally copied. With no other written 
materials Ledyard produced his manuscript journal, 
which ho sold to Mr Nathaniel Patten, publisher in 
Hartford, for twenty guineas. It was printed in a 
duodecimo volume containing a chart, and a dedica- 
tion to Governor Trumbull, expressive of the author's 
gratitude for the generosity and kindness, which he 
had received from that veteran patriot. 

A narrative thus drawn up must of course be in 
many respects imperfect, but the narrator makes no 
high pretensions; he never taxes our faith beyond 
the obvious bounds of probability, nor calls our atten- 
tion to hearsay reports and speculations of others. He 
describes what he saw and heard, and utters his own 
sentiments. In a few instances he varies from the 
accounts afterwards published in England ; but these 
commonly relate either to occurrences as to which he 
had a better opportunity for personal knowledge, or 
concerning which for various reasons it was the policy 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD- 39 

of the leaders of the expedition to preserve silence. 
The train of events at the Sandwich Islands, which led 
to the death of Captain Cook, is narrated by Ledyard 
in a manner more consistent and natural, than appears 
in any other account of it. The precipitancy of 
the officers, and of Cook particularly, or at least their 
want of caution, which was the primary cause of the 
tragical issue, was kept out of sight by the authorized 
narrators, and a mystery long hung over that catas- 
trophe, owing to the absence of any obvious coherency 
between causes and effects. On this point Ledyard's 
narrative is full and satisfactory, as will be seen in its 
proper place. 

As a proof of our traveller's activity of mind, and his 
ardor of inquiry, during this voyage, I shall here quote 
a passage from a work recently published by Captain 
James Burney, entitled, A Chronological History 
of Northeastern Voyages of Discovery. The author 
of this book was a lieutenant mider Cook in his two 
last voyages, son of Dr Burney, and consequently 
brother of Madame D'Arblay, the celebrated novelist. 
He is repeated);' mentioned in Ledyard's journal, and 
was a very enterprising officer. The estimation in 
which our hero was held by him will appear by the fol- 
lowing extract, as well as by other parts of the work. 

" With what education I know not," says Captain 
Burney, " but with an ardent disposition, Ledyard had 
a passion for lofty sentiment and description. When 
corporal of marines on board of the Resolution, after 
the death of Captain Cook, he proffered his services 
to Captain Clerke to undertake the office of historio- 
grapher to our expedition, and presented a specimen, 



40 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

which described the manners of the Society Islanders, 
and the kind of life led by our people whilst among 
them. He was not aware how many candidates he 
would have to contend with, if the office to which he 
aspired had been vacant ; perhaps not with fewer than 
with every one in the two ships who kept journals. 
Literary ambition and disposition to authorship led us 
in each ship to set up a weekly paper. When the 
paper in either ship was ready for delivery, a signal 
was made, and when answered by a similar signal from 
the other ship, Captain Cook, if the weather was fine, 
would good-naturedly let a boat be hoisted out to 
make the exchange, and he was always glad to read 
our paper, but never favored our editors with the con- 
tribution of a paragraph. I believe none of these 
papers have been saved, nor do I remember by what 
titles we distinguished them. Ledyard's performance 
was not criticised in our paper, as that would have 
entitled him to a freedom of controversy not consistent 
with military subordination. His ideas were thought 
too sentimental, and his language too florid. No one, 
however, doubted that his feelings were in accord with 
his expressions ; and the same is to be said of the little, 
which remains of what he has since written, more 
worthy of being preserved, and which its worthiness 
will preserve, and particularly of his celebrated com- 
mendation of women in his Siberian Tour." 

Ledyard's contributions to the paper here mention- 
ed, and his account of the Society Islanders, were 
probably taken from him with his manuscript journal, 
as I have found no remnants of them among his papers. 
His printed Journal contains a graphic and animated 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 41 

description of the Society Islands, but it was evidently 
written from recollection, like the rest of the volume. 
This testimony of Captain Burney in favor of his 
habits of observation, and literary industry, may justly 
inspire confidence in his writings. 

The last expedition under Captain Cook, and the 
one in which our traveller was engaged, left England 
on the twelfth of July, 1776. It consisted of two 
ships, the Resolution and Discovery, the former com- 
manded by Captain Cook, and the latter by Captain 
Clerke. After touching at Teneriffe, they proceeded 
to the Cape of Good Hope, and came to anchor in 
Table Bay, where they were to refit, lay in a new 
stock of provisions, and prepare for encountering 
the inconveniences and dangers of a long voyage in 
the great Southern Ocean, with the certainty that 
many months must elapse, before they could hope to 
arrive again in a port of civilized people. 

Several days were passed here in getting all things 
in readiness ; the men of science employed themselves 
in short excursions into the country ; provisions were 
collected by the proper officers, and the sailors were 
busy at their daily tasks. Last of all were taken 
on board various live animals, designed to be left at 
the islands where they did not exist, making, in con- 
nexion with those brought from England, a motley 
collection of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, 
dogs, cats, hares, rabbits, monkeys, ducks, geese, 
turkeys, and peacocks ; thus, says our voyager, " did 
we resemble the Ark, and appear as though we were 
going as well to stock as to discover a new world." 
iEsop might have conversed for weeks with such a 
6 



42 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

congregated multitude. The monkeys and peacocks 
seem to have been out of place m this assembly of 
sober and useful animals, and in the end they did little 
credit to their community. The monkeys never ceased 
from mischief, and the gay attire of the peacocks 
tempted a chief of Tongataboo to steal and carry 
them off. 

On the first of December, Cook departed from the 
Cape of Good Hope, and proceeded in a southeasterly 
direction, intending to shape his course around the 
southern extremity of New Holland. After sailing 
twentyfive days and passing two islands, the tops of 
which were covered with snow, although it was mid- 
summer in those latitudes, he came to anchor at an 
island, which had been recently discovered by Kergue- 
len, a French navigator. A bottle was found sus- 
pended by a wire between two rocks, sealed, and con- 
taining a piece of parchment, on which was written in 
French and Latin an account of Kerguelen's voyage 
and discovery. The island was desolate, without 
inhabitants, trees, or shrubs. A little grass was 
obtained for the cattle, and a species of vegetable was 
found resembling a wild cabbage, but of no value. It 
rained profusely, streams of fresh water came down 
from the hills, and the empty casks were replenished. 
The shore was covered with seals and sea-dogs, the 
former of which, apparently unconscious of danger, 
were killed without difficulty, and they afforded a 
seasonable supply of oil for lamps and other pur- 
poses. Vast flocks of birds hovered around, and 
the penguins, so little did they understand the char- 
acter of their visiters, would allow themselves to 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 43 

be approached and knocked down with clubs. Man 
was an enemy, whose sangumary prowess these 
tenants of the lonely island had never learnt to 
fear, and the simple penguin received his death blow 
with a composure and unconcern, that would have im- 
mortalized a stoic philosopher. The sailors were 
indulged in celebrating Christmas at Kerguelen's 
Island, after which the ships sailed, and the next har- 
bor to be gained was Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen's 
Land, being at the southern limits of New Holland. 
As no discoveries were to be attempted during this 
run, they proceeded directly to the point of destina- 
tion, at which they safely arrived within less than two 
months after leaving the Cape of Good Hope. 

The ships being moored in this bay, called by Tas- 
man, who discovered it, Frederic Henry's Bay, the 
sailors were sent out in parties to procure wood, water, 
and grass, all of which existed there in great plenty. 
No inhabitants appeared, although columns of smoke 
had been seen here and there rising through the woods 
at some distance, affording a sign that people were in 
the neighbourhood. After a day or two the natives 
came down to the beach in small parties, men, women, 
and children, but they seemed the most wretched of 
human beings, wearing no clothes, and carrying with 
them nothing but a rude stick about three feet long, 
and sharpened at one end. Their skin was black, 
hair cm*ly, and the beards of the men, as well as their 
hair, besmeared with a red oily substance. They 
were inoffensive, neither manifesting fear, nor offer- 
ing annoyance to their visiters. When bread was 
given them, it was thrown away without being tasted, 



44 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

although they were made to understand that it was to 
be eaten ; the same they did with fish, which had been 
caught in the harbor ; but they accepted birds, and 
intimated a fondness for that kind of food. When a 
gun was fired, they all ran off like wild deer to the 
woods, and were seen no more that day ; but their 
fright was not of long duration, for they came again 
the next morning with as little unconcern as ever. In 
all respects these people appeared in the lowest stage 
of human advancement. " They are the only people," 
says Ledyard, " who are known to go with their per- 
sons entirely naked, that have ever yet been discover- 
ed. Amidst the most stately groves of wood, they 
have neither weapons of defence, nor any other species 
of instruments applicable to the various purposes of 
life ; contiguous to the sea, they have no canoes ; and 
exposed from the nature of the climate to the inclem- 
ency of the seasons, as well as to the annoyances of 
the beasts of the forest, they have no houses to retire 
to, but the temporary shelter of a few pieces of old 
bark laid transversely over some small poles. They 
appear also to be inactive, indolent, and unaffected 
with the least curiosity." Cook remarked, that the 
natives here resembled those, whom he had seen in 
his former voyage on the north part of New Holland, 
and from this and other circumstances it was inferred, 
that New Holland from that point northward was not 
divided by any strait. Subsequent discoveries over- 
threw this conjecture, and it has since been made 
known, that Van Diemen's Land is an island separated 
from New Holland by a passage, or strait, nearly one 
hundred miles broad, and containing many small 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 45 

islands. It is remarkable, that no resemblance has 
been discovered between the language of the natives 
here, and that spoken by the New Hollanders. 

On Van Diemen's island are now some of the most 
flourishing settlements in the British dominions. The 
wilderness is disappearing before the strong arm of 
enterprise, and under the hand of culture the hills and 
valleys yield in abundance all the products, common to 
similar latitudes in the north. Emigrants from Eng- 
land annually flock to that country, invest their capital 
in lands, and engage in agricultural pursuits. Towns 
have been built, and commerce established. Wheat, 
maize, wool, cattle, and other articles, are largely ex- 
ported, and there is hardly recorded in history an 
instance of a new colony having increased so rapidly 
in numbers and wealth. The wild men, like our 
North American Indians, retreat and leave their native 
soil to a better destiny. 

When Cook had provided his ships with wood and 
water, they were unmoored, and their course directed 
to New Zealand, where they entered a cove in Queen 
Charlotte's Sound. Here they remained a month, 
which aflbrded time for observations, and for laying in 
such provisions as were found in the country. New 
Zealand consists of two islands, which are situate be- 
tween parallels of latitude on the south of the equator, 
nearly corresponding with those of the United States 
on the north, thus having a variable climate, and a soil 
suited to most of the productions of temperate regions. 
In the character of the inhabitants are exhibited con- 
trasts never perceived in any other people. They 
are cannibals, devouring human victims with eagerness 



46 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

and delight, ferocious beyond example in their wars, 
deadly in their revenge, and insatiable in their thirst for 
the blood of their enemies ; yet they have many of 
the opposite traits, strong attachment to friends, with 
a quick sensibility to their sufferings, and grief incon- 
solable at the death of a relative ; nor are they devoid 
of generosity, or unsusceptible of the tender passion. 
Living as they do in a temperate climate, they are an 
athletic, hardy race of people, whose progress in re- 
finement bears no proportion to their natural powers 
of body and mind ; and thus no proper balance being 
maintained, the contending elements of human nature, 
the propensities, passions, and affections, shoot forth 
into the wildest extremes. How they should differ 
so entirely from their neighbours, the New Hollan- 
ders, who are in nearly the same external condition, is 
a question upon which the curious may speculate, but 
will hardly come to a satisfactory conclusion. Plau- 
sible reasons may nevertheless be adduced to prove, 
that the New Zealanders and New Hollanders, not- 
withstanding their proximity, have originated from 
stocks widely remote. 

While the ships lay at anchor in Queen Charlotte's 
Sound, a singular love adventure occurred between a 
young English sailor and a New Zealand girl, the par- 
ticulars of which are related in Ledyard's journal, as 
they are also in Cook's Voyages, and which prove the 
softer sex among savages, even the daughters of can- 
nibals, to be capable of deep affection and strong- 
attachment. An intimacy was contracted between a 
sailor and a native girl about fourteen years of age, 
which grew stronger from day to day, till at length all 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD* 47 

the time he could spare from his duties was devoted to 
her society. He furnished her with combs to decorate 
her hair, and with ornaments for her person ; and, to 
make himself more attractive in her eyes, he submit- 
ted to be tattooed according to the custom of the 
country. His passion was reciprocated in the most 
ardent and artless manner by the maiden, Gowanna- 
hee, whom no conventional rules had taught to 
conceal the emotions of nature ; and although they 
understood not each other's language, yet love whis- 
pered in accents, which they found no difficulty in 
comprehending. Thus their days and hours flew 
rapidly away, till the time of separation approached, 
Gowannahee was much distressed when such an event 
was hinted at ; she would throw her arms around her 
lover's neck, and insist that he should not go ; and 
such were the alluring arts she used, and such the 
willingness of the youth to be led by them, that he 
resolved to desert from the ship and remain behind. 
He contrived to remove his clothing and other effects 
on shore, and to escape by the stratagem of dressing 
himself in the costume of the natives and mingling in the 
crowd, just as orders were given to sail, and the New 
Zealanders were required to leave the ships. When 
the roll was called to ascertain if all hands were on 
board, his absence was discovered. The cause was 
easily apprehended, and some of the officers were dis- 
posed to let such an instance of true love have its re- 
ward, and not to disturb the enamored sailor in his 
dreams of future felicity among the savages of New 
Zealand. The less sentimental Cook was not moved 
by these mild counsels ; he saw mischief in such a 



48 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

precedent, and he was inflexible ; a guard of marines 
was despatched to search for the truant, and bring him 
back to duty. He had proceeded to the interior and 
secreted himself with his faithful Gowannahee, but 
his hiding-place was at last discovered. As soon as 
she perceived their intention to take him away, she 
was overwhelmed with anguish, and at the parting 
scene on the beach she yielded herself up (o expres- 
sions of grief and despair, which the stoutest heart 
could not witness unmoved. The young sailor was 
examined and tried for his misdemeanor, but Cook 
was so much amused with the schemes he had devised 
for himself, and the picture he had drawn of his future 
prospects and greatness, as the husband of Gowanna- 
hee, and a chief of renown, that he forbore to aggra- 
vate the pains of disappointed hope by any formal 
punishment. 

Recent observations have confirmed all that was 
said by Cook and his companions of the New Zealan- 
ders. English missionaries have for some years past 
been stationed among them, and possessed the means 
of becoming perfectly acquainted with their character 
and habits. They have witnessed their banquets of 
human flesh, their extremes of passion, their savage 
barbarity at one time, and their docile, affectionate 
temper, and keen sensibility at another War is their 
highest delight, and in pursuing an enemy, nothing of 
the human being seems left, except his reason mad- 
dened with revenge, and making him adroit in the 
work of death. In several instances, boats' and ships' 
crews have been cut off and devoured by them. Yet 
these people are superstitious and full of religious fear, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 49 

imagining themselves to be surrounded by invisible 
spirits, who have powder over them, and who must be 
conciliated by prayers and ceremonies ; who control 
the elements, bring rain on the land, and rouse up the 
winds and waves at sea. The missionaries have 
known persons become so frantic, at the death of a 
near relation, as to commit suicide ; and it is a common 
thing for them to wound and mangle their bodies in a 
frightful manner on such occasions. When Mr Mars- 
den made his second missionary tour to these islands, 
after having been away two or three years, his old 
acquaintances burst into tears in talking of their 
friends, who had died during his absence. History^ 
does not acquaint us with more eminent examples of 
humanity and pious efforts, of resolution and self- 
denial, than are manifested in the missionaries, who 
have forsaken even the common comforts of civilized 
life, and settled down with a determination to pass 
their days in this region of moral darkness and human 
debasement. 

While Cook was at New Zealand he was greatly 
assisted in his intercourse with the people by Omai, a 
native of the Society Islands, whom he had taken to 
England on a former voyage, and who was now re- 
turning to his country, loaded with presents from the 
king, and other persons whom curiosity had drawn 
around him, in Great Britain. Although Omai had 
never before seen a New Zealander, yet the language 
so much resembled his own, that he could easily con- 
verse with the inhabitants. As he knew English, he 
thus became a ready interpreter. This was an advan- 
7 



50 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

tage, which Cook had never been able to enjoy on 
any former occasion. 

The vessels weighed anchor and departed from 
Queen Charlotte's Sound, destined to Otaheite, or, as 
it is now called, Tahiti, the largest of the Society 
Islands, and about fifteen hundred miles distant from 
New Zealand. Head winds and boisterous weather 
forced them out of their course ; grass and water for 
the cattle, as well as fresh provisions for the men, be- 
gan to fail ; and it was thought best to bear away for 
the Friendly Islands, where a supply could be at once 
obtained. On this passage they fell in with several 
islands never before discovered, but their shores were 
so closely bound with coral reefs as to prevent the ap- 
proach of the ships. The natives came off in canoes, 
and brought hogs and fruit, which they gave in ex- 
change for articles of little value. 

A small party, consisting of Mr Burney, three or 
four other officers, and Omai, landed on one of these 
islands, called Watteeoo, where they were immediate- 
ly plundered of everything they had about them, and 
detained through the day. Great crowds gathered 
around, and annoyed them much, but no violence was 
offered to their persons. Here Omai was astonished 
to find three of his own countrymen. Their story- 
was affecting. Several years before, they had set off 
in a large canoe with a party of about twenty persons, 
men, women, and children, to pass from Otaheite to 
Ulietea, a neighbouring island. A storm overtook 
them, and, after continuing three days, drove them so 
far out to sea, that they knew not where they were, 
nor what course to steer. Some of the women and 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 51 

children had perished in the storm, and others were so 
much exhausted as to survive no longer. The canoe 
was carried along by the current from day to day ; 
water and provision failed ; some of the survivors died 
of hunger and fatigue ; others in the frenzy of despair 
jumped overboard and were drowned ; and after thir- 
teen days, when the canoe was discovered by the 
natives of Watteeoo, it contained but four men, and 
these so much reduced by famine and suffering, as to be 
unconscious of their situation, and scarcely to be dis- 
tinguished from the dead bodies, with which they were 
promiscuously lying, in the bottom of the boat. They 
were taken on shore, and by kind treatment they 
gradually recovered their consciousness and strength. 
One had since died, but the other three said they 
were happy in their adopted country, and declined 
Omai's invitation to return with him to their native 
islands, adding that their nearest relatives had perished 
before their eyes on the disastrous voyage, and it 
would only be renewing their grief to visit again the 
places, in which they had formerly known them. 

The distance between Otaheite and Watteeoo is 
more than fifteen hundred miles, and this voyage of a 
canoe affords an important fact in solving the great 
problem, which has so long perplexed geographers and 
speculating philosophers, as to the manner in which 
the innumerable clusters of islands in the Pacific ocean 
have been peopled. We here have proof incontestible, 
that a communication between remote islands was 
possible, even by such means only as the natives 
themselves possessed. This single fact, in short, is 
enough to settle the question. 



52 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

After touching at Anamoca, and remaining some 
days at the Happaee Islands, Cook came to anchor in 
a harbor of Tongataboo, on the ninth of June. Here 
they staid twenty-six days, collecting a great abun- 
dance of provisions, and living on social and friendly 
terms with the natives. This island is exceedingly 
fertile, covered with forests and luxuriant herbage. 
Agriculture and the arts of life were carried to a much 
greater extent here, than at New Zealand, or indeed 
most of the South Sea islands. The kind disposition 
of the people had given to Tongataboo, and the clus- 
ter of islands in its neighbourhood, the name of the 
Friendly Islands. Later experience has proved, that 
they had a smaller claim to this distinction, than was 
at first supposed. It is very probable, however, that 
their acquaintance with civilized men was the principal 
cause of their apparent change of character. They 
learnt new vices faster than they acquired a knowledge 
of their criminality, or the moral power of resisting 
temptation. Nowhere have the missionaries found 
their situation more uncomfortable, or their task more 
difficult, than at the Friendly Islands. When visited 
by Cook, the people were comparatively amiable, sim- 
ple, and happy, addicted to the weaknesses, but not 
to the grosser crimes of the savage state ; accustomed 
to warlike enterprises, but not making them, as did 
the New Zealanders, the chief source of their 
pleasure, and the great business of their lives. On 
the contrary, they had amusements of an innocent 
kind, as well as curious religious ceremonies, which 
occupied much of their time, and were suited to a 
state of peace and tranquillity. These were often 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 53 

exhibited, and obviously as much with a desire to 
please their visitants, as to show off their skill to ad- 
vantage, or promote their own gratification. The 
king, or great chief, whose name was Poulaho, treated 
Cook with marked respect, and caused all his people 
to do the same, as far as he could exercise his power 
to that end. Ledyard describes in an agreeable man- 
ner the scenes, that came under his observation at 
Tongataboo. The day after landing, it was his duty 
to be on shore, and he passed the night with Poulaho, 
who had declined Cook's invitation to go with him on 
board. 

" It was just dusk," says Ledyard, " when they 
parted, and as I had been present during a part of this 
first interview, and was detained on shore, I was glad 
he did not go off, and asked him to my tent ; but Pou- 
lako chose rather to have me go with him to his house, 
where we went and sat down together without the 
entrance. We had been here but a few minutes, be- 
fore one of the natives advanced through the grove to 
the skirts of the green, and there halted. Poulaho 
observed him, and told me he wanted him, upon 
which I beckoned to the Indian, and he came to us. 
When he approached Poulaho, he squatted down upon 
his hams, and put his forehead to the sole of Poulaho's 
foot, and then received some directions from him, and 
went away, and returned again very soon with some 
baked yarns and fish rolled up in fresh plantain leaves, 
and deposited in a little basket made of palm leaves, 
and a large cocoanut shell full of clean fresh water, 
and a smaller one of salt water. These he set down, 
and went and brought a mess of the same kind, and 



54 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

set them down by me. Poulaho then desked I would 
eat ; but preferring salt, which I had in the tent, to the 
sea water which they used, I called one of the guard, 
and had some of that brought me to eat with my fish, 
which was really most delightfully dressed, and of 
which I ate very heartily. 

" Their animal and vegetable food is dressed in the 
same manner here, as at the southern and northern 
tropical islands throughout these seas, being all baked 
among hot stones laid in a hole, and covered over first 
with leaves and then with mould. Poulaho was fed 
by the chief who waited on him, both with victuals 
and drink. After he had finished, the remains were 
carried away by the chief in w^aiting, who returned 
soon after with two large separate rolls of cloth, and 
two little low wooden stools. The cloth was for a 
covering while asleep, and the stools to raise and rest 
the head on, as we do on a pillow. These were left 
within the house, or rather under the roof, one side 
being open. The floor within was composed of coarse 
dry grass, leaves, and flowers, over which were spread 
large well wrought mats. On this Poulaho and I re- 
moved and sat down, while the chief unrolled, and 
spread out the cloth ; after which he retired, and in a 
few minutes there appeared a fine young girl about 
seventeen years of age, who, approaching Poulaho, 
stooped and kissed his great toe, and then retired and 
sat down in an opposite part of the house. It was 
now about nine o'clock, and a bright moonshine ; the 
sky was serene, and the winds hushed. Suddenly I 
heard a number of their flutes, beginning nearly at the 
same time, burst from every quarter of the surrounding 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD- 55 

grove ; and whether this was meant as an exhilaratmg 
serenade, or a soothing soporific to the great Poulaho, 
I cannot tell. Immediately on hearing the music he 
took me by the hand, intimating that he was going to 
sleep, and showing me the other cloth, which was 
spread nearly beside him, and the pillow, invited me 
to use it." 

After describing the occupations of the natives, 
their traffic, articles of trade, and some of their cus- 
toms, he speaks of their amusements. 

" The markets being over, there were generally an 
hour or two, and those before dark, in which the na- 
tives, to entertain us and exhibit their own accom- 
plishments, used to form matches at wrestling, boxing, 
and other athletic exercises, of which they were very 
vain, and in which they were by far the best accom- 
plished of all the people we ever visited before or 
after. These exercises were always performed on the 
green within the circle, and among the Indian specta- 
tors there were a certain number of elderly men, who 
presided over and regulated the exercise. When one 
of the wrestlers, or combatants, was fairly excelled, 
they signified it by a short sonorous sentence, which 
they sung, expressing that he was fallen, fairly fallen, 
or that he was fairly conquered, and that the victor 
kept the field. From this there was no appeal, nor 
indeed did they seem to want it, for among their 
roughest exercises I never saw any of them choleric, 
envious, malicious, or revengeful ; but preserving their 
tempers, or being less irascible than we generally are, 
they quit the stage with the same good nature with 
which they entered it. 



56 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" When they wrestle, they seize each other by a 
strong plaited girdle, made of the fibres of the cocoa- 
nut, and worn round the waist for that purpose ; and 
they describe nearly the same operations in this con- 
test that we do in what we call hugging or scuffling. 
In boxing their manoeuvres are different. They had 
both hands clenched, and bound round separately wdth 
small cords, which perhaps was intended to prevent 
their clenching each other when closely engaged, thus 
preventing foul play ; or it might be to preserve the 
joints of the fingers, and especially the thumb, from 
being dislocated. Perhaps the best general idea I can 
convey of their attitudes in this exercise, is to com- 
pare them with those of the ancient gladiators of 
Rome, which they much resembled. 

" They are very expert and intrepid in these per- 
formances, but as they are mere friendly efforts of skill 
and prowess, they continue no longer than till the pur- 
poses of such a contention are answered ; and the 
combatant, as soon as he finds that he shall be con- 
quered, is seldom such an obstinate fool, as to be beat 
out of his senses to be made sensible he is so, but re- 
tires most commonly with a whole skin. But the 
exercise of the club is not so, and as these contests 
are very severe, and even dangerous, they are seldom 
performed. We never saw but one instance of it, but 
it was a most capital one, as the performers were 
capital characters ; and though we expected the exhi- 
bition to be very short, yet it lasted nearly twenty 
minutes, protracted by the skill of the combatants in 
avoiding each other's blows, some of which were no 
less violent than artful. After being pretty well buf- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 57 

feted about the body, a fortuitous blow upon the head 
of one decided the matter, and the conquered was 
carried off, while the victor, elated with success, stood 
and enjoyed the subsequent shouts of praise, that pro- 
ceeded from the spectators. When these shouts end- 
ed, the young women round the circle rose, and sang, 
and danced a short kind of interlude in celebration of 
the hero." 

Not to be outdone by the monarch of the Friendly 
Isles in politeness and attempts to please, Cook got up 
a brilliant exhibition of fireworks, with which Poulaho 
and all his people were greatly astonished and delight- 
ed. The mathematical and astronomical instruments, 
which had been fitted up in tents on shore, were also 
matters of curiosity and wonder. The natives were 
particularly amused, likewise, with the horses, cows, 
sheep, goats, and other animals, which Ledyard said, 
on leaving the Cape of Good Hope, made the ships 
resemble Noah's ark. As dogs and hogs were the 
only animals found on the islands, and of course the 
only ones ever before seen by the inhabitants, they 
seemed completely puzzled to know what to make of 
these new orders of the creation. The sheep and 
goats they called birds ; but the horses, cows, cats, and 
rabbits, were nondescripts for which no place had been 
assigned in their scientific arrangement. 

Thus agreeably passed the days at Tongataboo; 
the good-natured people omitted nothing, which was 
in their power, to gratify their visiters, whether by 
supplying them with the best provisions the islands 
afforded, or by amusing them with innocent pastimes. 
One thing only marred the harmony of their inter- 



58 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

course. These simple and hospitable people, each 
and all, from the highest rank downwards, were incor- 
rigible thieves ; that is, they made no scruple to take 
whatever they could lay their fingers upon, and appro- 
priate it to their own use. This habit was prevalent 
throughout all the South Sea islands, but nowhere had 
the voyagers been so much annoyed by it, as at these 
islands of friendship. Cook resorted to summary and 
severe measures to teach the natives what he thought 
of this vice, and sometimes inflicted punishments little 
suited to the moral light of the people, whom he 
arraigned as transgressors. It does not appear that 
pilfering was deemed a crime, or a disreputable of- 
fence, and indeed the historian of Cook's Voyages 
declares, that " the inhabitants of the South Sea 
islands in their petty larcenies were actuated by a 
childish disposition, rather than a thievish one." In 
this view of the subject, it can hardly be imagined 
that there was any natural right in the civilized visi- 
ters to inflict harsh punishment on their ignorant and 
kind entertainers ; on the contrary, it was cruel and 
unjust ; it was the last way to gain friends, or to in- 
spire the natives with a love of the moral code. Led- 
yard speaks with warmth of some examples of this 
kind, which came under his notice, but adds, alluding 
to Cook, " It must be remembered that the ability of 
performing the important errand before us, depended 
very much, if not entirely, upon the precarious supplies 
we might procure from these and other such islands, 
and he must of consequence be very anxious and soli- 
citous in this concernment ; but perhaps no considera- 
tion will excuse the severity, which he sometimes used 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 69 

towards the natives on these occasions ; and he would 
probably have done better to consider, that the full ex- 
ertion of extreme power is an argument of extreme 
weakness ; and nature seemed to inform the insulted 
natives of the truth of this maxim, for before we quit- 
ted Tongataboo, we could not go anywhere into the 
country upon business or pleasure without danger." 

One instance is related with more particularity than 
others, as it occurred in high life, and was made a 
state concern. In Tongataboo was a chief called 
Feenou, a man of fine personal appearance, graceful 
and commanding in his carriage, frank in his disposi- 
tion, generous, enterprising, and bold ; in short, he 
was the idol of the people, and throughout all the isles 
there was no chief, whose renown was so loudly and 
heartily trumpeted as that of Feenou. He was the 
man, whom the great Poulaho delighted to honor 
above others. When the strangers came, Feenou was 
their early and devoted friend, and his attachment and 
kind offices held out to the last. " If they lost any 
goods, and these were carried either to the interior of 
Tongataboo, or to any of the detached islands, their 
only confidential resource was Feenou ; or if any other 
emergency required despatch, policy, courage, or 
force, Feenou was the man to advise and act." Such 
were the character and deeds of this chief. He could 
subdue the hearts of men, and the strength of an ene- 
my, but he could not conquer the tyranny of habit. 
From day to day he had gazed with inward raptures 
upon the gaudy plumage of the peacocks, which had 
been brought with much care and trouble from Eng- 
land ; their charms were irresistible ; just as the ves- 
sels were about to sail, the peacocks disappeared ; 



60 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Feenou was also out of the way ; he had stolen the 
birds, and concealed himself with his booty. 

The affront was resented by Cook in an extraordi- 
nary manner ; he immediately ordered Poulaho, the 
king, to be arrested, and placed a guard over him in 
his own house, giving him to understand that he 
should be held a prisoner till the peacocks were re- 
stored. This was a novel mode of making a king 
answerable for the acts of his subjects. Much disor- 
der ensued ; the chiefs felt the insult offered to their 
sovereign, and began to assume a warlike attitude, and 
threaten the guard ; but Poulaho advised them to de- 
sist, and preserve peace till a reconciliation should be 
attempted ; and when Cook appeared, the khig salut- 
ed him with dignity and respect, but with a manifest 
sense of the injustice that was practised upon him. 
His coolness and counsel kept the people from offering 
violence to the guards, who surrounded him with fixed 
bayonets; and the next day Feenou himself came 
forward, entreated for the release of the king, and 
assured Cook that the birds should be returned to him 
before sunset. Thus the affair was happily termi- 
nated, leaving a much stronger proof of the firmness 
than the prudence of the great navigator. The re- 
conciliation was followed by magnificent presents of 
red feathers and provisions on the part of Feenou, and 
others equally valuable from Cook. He gave Poulaho 
some of the domestic animals, which he had brought 
from England for the purpose of distributing among 
the islands. All parties separated mutually satisfied 
with each other, and with as warm tokens of friend- 
ship from the natives, as could be expected after the 
recent transactions. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 61 



CHAPTER IV. 

Society Islands. — Otaheite. — Ledyard's description of the language, customs, 
religion, laws, and government of the natives. — Their probable faith in the 
doctrine of transmigration. — Remarks on his mode of reasoning on this sub- 
ject. — His theoiy of the origin of customs and superstitions. — Notions of a 
Diety among the Otaheitans. — Conduct of Omai. — Difficulties attending the 
efforts to civilize savages. — Sandwich Islands discovered. — The vessels proceed 
to the American continent, and anchor in Nootka Sound. — Appearance and 
manners of the people. — Indian wampmn. — The abundance of furs. — Canni- 
balism. — Curious digression on the origin and practice of sacrifices. — Captain 
Cook passes Bering's Straits, explores the northern ocean till stopped by the 
ice, and returns to the island of Onalaska. — Sends Ledyard with two Indians 
in search of a Russian establishment on the coast. — His account of this 
adventure. — In what manner he was transported in a canoe. — Village of 
Russians and Indians. — Hot baths. — Their habitations and manner of Uving 
described. — Bering's vessel. — Ledyard rettirns to the ships, and reports to 
Captain Cook.- — Expedition returns to the Sandvidch Islands. 

We shall next join our navigators at the Society 
Islands, where they arrived on the fourteenth of Au- 
gust. Many of the officers and seamen, who had been 
there on a former voyage, were recognised by the na- 
tives, and received with great cordiality ; the day of 
landing at Otaheite was given up to festivity and 
mutual congratulations between old acquaintances. 

The occurrences during their stay at these islands, 
are related in a lively manner by Ledyard. He de- 
scribes the natural productions of the Society Islands, 
the appearance and condition of the natives, their 
food, clothing, and houses, their language, customs, 
religion, laws, and government. From the minute- 
piBss with which he speaks on most of these subjects, 
it is evident that the principal points in the essay 



62 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

mentioned by Mr Burney were still fresh in his 
memory, and moreover that he was a close and in- 
quisitive observer of everything, which came within 
his reach or knowledge. 

" The inhabitants," he remarks, " are of the largest 
size of Europeans ; the men are tall, strong, well 
limbed, and fairly shaped. The women of superior 
rank among them are also in general above our middle 
size, but those of the inferior rank are far below it ; 
some of them are quite small. Their complexion is a 
clear olive, or brunette, and the whole contour of the 
face quite handsome, except the nose, which is generally 
a little inclined to be flat. Their hair is black and 
coarse ; the men have beards, but pluck the greatest 
part of them out ; they are vigorous, easy, graceful, 
and liberal in their deportment, and of a courteous, 
hospitable disposition, but shrewd and artful. The 
women cut their hair short, and the men wear theirs 
long. They have a custom of staining their bodies in 
a manner that is universal among all those islands, and 
is called by them tattooing ; in doing this they prick 
the skin with an instrument of small sharp bones, 
which they dip as occasion requires into a black com- 
position of coal dust and water, which leaves an in- 
delible stain. The operation is painful, and it is some 
days before the wound is well. 

" Their clothing consists of a cloth made of the 
inner rind of the bark of three diiferent kinds of trees, 
the Chinese paper mulberry, the bread-fruit tree, and 
a kind of wild fig tree, which, in the formation of dif- 
ferent kinds of cloth, are differently disposed of by 
using one singly, or any two, or all of them together. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 63 

The principal excellences of this cloth are its coolness 
and softness; its defects are its being pervious to 
water and easily torn. They sometimes, especially if 
it is wet, wear fine mats of which they have a great 
variety. 

*' Their amusements are music, dancing, wrestling, 
and boxing, all which are like those of Tongataboo. 

" As to the religion, laws, and government of these 
people, much has been said about them by former 
voyagers ; and in truth too much, especially about 
their religion, which they are not fond of discovering, 
and therefore, when urged on the matter, they have 
often, rather than displease those who made the in- 
quiry, told not only different accounts, but such as 
were utterly inconsistent with what we knew to be 
true from ocular demonstration. They assured us, 
for instance, that they never sacrificed human bodies, 
but an accident happened, that contradicted it, and 
gave us the full proof of it, the operation and design. 

" They believe in the immortality of the soul, at 
least its existence in a future state ; but how it exists, 
whether as a mere spiritual substance, or whether it 
is united again to a corporeal or material form, and 
what form, is uncertain. It is supposed they have 
notions of transmigration. Our conjectures originate 
from observing that universal, constant, and uniform 
regard, which they pay in a greater or less degree to 
every species of subordinate beings, even to the minut- 
est insect, and the most insignificant reptile. This 
was never esteemed a philosophical sentiment, nor a 
mere dictate of nature, because the people who enter- 
tain these notions are not led to embrace them by the 



64 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

unbiassed impulses of nature, which would lead them 
to regard their own species more than any other. It 
must, therefore, be from other motives, and I know of 
none so probable as religion or superstition, which are 
indeed synonymous terms when applied to these peo- 
ple ; besides, it is well known to have been a religious 
sentiment among many other people, both ancient and 
modern, who have claimed the appellation of civilized. 
It exists now among several Asiatic sects, both east 
and west of the Ganges, particularly among the 
Banians, who abstain from all animal food. It is well 
known, that some tribes in Asia have built hospitals 
for certain species of subordinate beings." 

The author's reasoning here about the doctrine of 
transmigration is somewhat curious, but his inference 
that the natives believed in it, because they showed a 
regard for inferior animals, is at least questionable. 
He goes on to enforce his opinion, however, by re- 
marking that they eat little animal food, and abstain 
from the flesh of some kinds of birds altogether. In 
killing animals, also, they are careful to inflict as little 
pain as possible ; they are extremely indulgent to rats, 
with which they are much infested, and rarely do 
them any harm ; when stung by flies or musquitoes, 
they only frighten them away. This lenity towards 
animals, however commendable in those who practise 
it, will hardly prove their faith in the doctrine of 
transmigration, or that these savages refrained from 
crushing a fly or musquito, because they apprehended 
a spirit, which had once animated a human form, 
had been doomed to an existence in one of these 
insects. It is a favorite theory of the author, at which 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 65 

he hints on several occasions, that such habits and 
superstitions of a people, as are woven into their char- 
acter and history, must have come dovj^n from some 
very remote time, and not have sprung out of casual or 
local circumstances, of which any knowledge exists. 
He says, " all the customs of mankind appear to be 
derivative and traditionary." How far he would carry 
back the tradition, he does not add ; but this doctrine 
of transmigration he traces to Asia, and supposes it to 
have found its way to the islands of the Pacific with 
the first settlers, who came from that quarter, and to 
have kept its place through all subsequent changes 
among the superstitions of their descendants. 

" Their notions of a Deity," he continues, " and 
the speculative parts of their religion, are involved 
even among themselves in mystery, and perplexed 
with inconsistencies ; and their priests, who alone pre- 
tend to be informed of it, have, by their own indus- 
trious fabrications and the addition of its traditionary 
fables, shut themselves up in endless mazes of inex- 
tricable labyrinths. None of them act alike in their 
ceremonies, and none of them narrate alike when in- 
quired of concerning the matter ; therefore, what ihey 
conceive respecting a God we cannot tell ; though we 
conclude upon the whole that they worship one great 
Supreme, the author and governor of all things ; but 
there seems to be such a string of subordinate gods 
intervening between him and the least of those, and 
the characters of the whole so contrasting, whimsical, 
absurd, and ridiculous, that their mythology is very 
droll, and represents the best of the group no better 
than a harlequin. 
9 



66 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" The government of Otaheite resembles the early 
condition of every government, which, in an unim- 
proved and unrefined state, is ever a kind of fe"dal 
system of subordination, securing licentious liberty to 
a few, and a dependant servility to the rest." 

Having above spoken of Omai, the native of the 
Society Islands, whom Cook had taken with him to 
England on a former voyage, and who had received 
every possible advantage for becoming acquainted 
with the habits, arts, and enjoyments of civilized life, 
the reader may be curious to know, in what manner 
he demeaned himself when he returned to his native 
country, and what were the prospects of his being 
benefited by his acquisitions and experience. In this 
case, as in many others, it will be seen, that the at- 
tempt to enlighten the ignorance and change the 
character of the savage was unsuccessful. On landing 
at Otaheite, says Ledyard, " we had a number of 
visiters, among whom w^as a sister of Omai, who came 
to welcome her brother to his native country again ; 
but the behavior of Omai on that occasion was conso- 
nant to his proud, empty, ambitious heart, and he 
refused at first to own her for his sister ; the reason 
of which was, her being a poor obscure girl, and as he 
expected to be nothing but king, the connexion would 
disgrace him." In a few days the vessels sailed over 
to Hueheine, the native island of Omai, at which 
he was finally to be left. Here a small house was 
built for him, in which his effects were deposited. 
About an acre of ground adjoining the house was pur- 
chased of the natives, surrounded with a ditch, and 
converted into a garden, in which various European 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 67 

seeds were planted. Several of the live animals, 
broUg'it from England, were also put onshore, and left 
under his charge. 

" When ready to sail, Captain Cook made an enter- 
tainment on behalf of Omai at his little house, and in 
order to recommend him still further to the chiefs of 
the island, he invited them also. Every body enjoyed 
himself but Omai, v^'ho became more dejected as the 
time of his taking leave of us for ever approached ; 
and when he came finally to bid adieu, the scene was 
very affecting to the W'hole company. It is certainly 
to be regretted, that Omai will never be of any service 
to his country by his travels, but perhaps will render 
his countrymen, and himself too, the more unhappy." 

The subsequent fate of Omai is not known, but 
had his knowledge, his efforts, or his example pro- 
duced any valuable effects in his native island, the 
monuments of them would havo been obvious to 
future voyagers. There has never been a more idle 
scheme of philanthropy, than that of converting a 
savage into a civilized man. No one attempt, it is 
believed, has ever been successful. Even Sampson 
Occum, before his death, relapsed into some of the 
worst habits of his tribe, and no North American In- 
dian of unmixed blood, whatever pains may have been 
taken with his education, has been known to adopt 
the manners of civilized men, or to pass his life among 
them. The reason is sufficiently plain, without resort- 
ing to natural instinct. In a civilized community, a 
man who has been a savage, must always feel himself 
inferior to those around him ; this feeling will drive 
him to his native woods, where he can claim and 



68 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

maintain an equality with his associates. This is the 
universal sentiment of nature, and none but a slave 
can be without it. When a man lives with savages, 
he will assume the habits of a savage, the light of 
education will be extinguished, and his mind and his 
moral sense will soon adapt themselves to his con- 
dition. 

The vessels at length departed from the Society 
Islands, and took a northerly course, with the inten- 
tion of falling in with the coast of America, at about 
the fortieth degree of north latitude. After sailing 
six weeks, without approaching any other land, than 
an uninhabited island, consisting chiefly of a bed of 
coral rocks, and abounding in turtle of a fine quality, 
the mariners were greeted with a view of high land at 
a distance, which was not marked on the charts. It 
proved to be a new discovery, and was one of the 
group of islands, named afterwards by Cook the Sand- 
wick Islands. A safe harbor was found and entered, 
in which the vessels were no sooner anchored, than 
they were surrounded by canoes filled with the 
natives, who regarded the new comers with mex- 
pressible surprise, though not with apparent fear. A 
source of astonishment to the navigators was, that the 
people should speak a language differing but little from 
those of the Society Islands and New Zealand, which 
were distant, the first nearly three thousand, and the 
other four thousand miles, with an ocean intervening. 
The wide extent of the Polynesian dialects was not 
then known. Although very shy at first, the natives 
"w^ere not long in summoning courage to go on board. 
They looked with wonder upon the objects around 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 69 

them, examined the hands, faces, and clothes of the 
sailors, and inquired if thej could eat. When satisfied 
on this head, by seeing them devour dry biscuit, the 
simple islanders were eager to show their hospitality, 
and presented them with pigs, yams, sweet potatoes, 
and plantains, thus verifying a, declaration of Ledyard 
on another occasion, that " all uncivilized men are 
hospitable." A friendly intercourse was established, 
and provisions were given in barter for old iron, nails, 
and other articles of little intrinsic value, but impor- 
tant to the natives. 

Cook remained ten days only at these islands, and 
then sailed for the American coast, intending to visit 
them again on his return from the north in the follow- 
ing winter. It was now the first of February, and no 
time was to be lost in hastening his voyage to the 
northward, for his plan was to proceed along the 
American shore, and run through Bering's Strait, so 
as to explore the polar latitudes at the proper season. 
Without any remarkable accident or adventure he 
reached the continent, and anchored in Nootka Sound. 
This is an extraordinary bay, extending several 
leagues into the country, and completely land-locked. 
On the *first night he ships were anchored in water 
nearly five hundred feet deep, and in other parts it 
was more than six hundred. A convenient harbor 
was found the next day. The bay is surrounded by 
lofty hills, and the shore is so bold, that the ships 
were secured by ropes fastened to trees. 

Our wanderer was now on his native continent, and 
although more than three thousand miles from the 
place of his birth, yet he could not resist the sensa- 



70 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

tions kindled by the remembrance of home. All the 
deep emotions, says he, " incident to natural attach- 
ments and early prejudices played around my heart, 
and I indulged them." The feeling was spontaneous 
and genuine. Ledyard saw in the inhabitants, like- 
wise, indications of an affinity between them and the 
Indians, whom he had visited in his native country. 
In ail his travels he manifests a remarkable acute ness 
in observing the human character in its various grada- 
tions of improvement, and particularly in detecting 
resemblances between uncivilized people of different 
regions. Whether among the South Sea Islands, on 
the Northwest Coast of America, in Kamtschatka, Si- 
beria, or Egypt, remarks of this sort escape him con- 
tinually. He seems to have had in his mind a scale 
upon which he graduated the nations of men, and 
which he studied so carefully, that he could assign 
to each its proper place. His observations w ere not 
restricted to one class of qualities or circumstances, 
but they extended to all that constitute individual and 
national peculiarities, to the intellect, physical charac- 
teristics, modes of living, dress, warlike implements, 
habitations, furniture, government, religion, social 
state, and domestic habits. Nor was he merely ob- 
serving and inquisitive ; he was addicted to thought 
and redeciion. His theories were raised on the basis 
of facts ; his results were sustained by reasons, satis- 
factory at least to himself. He was fond of pursuing 
analogies, especially in regard to the origin, customs, 
and characters of the various races of men, and here 
the wide compass of his inquiries supplied him with 
so many materials not accessible to others, that he 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 71 

sometimes came to conclusions less obvious to those 
who follow him, than they were to his own mind. 
His description of the people of Nootka is here in- 
serted. 

" I had no sooner beheld these Americans, tlian I set 
them down for the same kind of people, that inhabit 
the opposite side of the continent They are rather 
above the middle stature, copper-colored, and ol' an 
athletic make. They have lon^ black hair, which 
they generally wear in a club on the top of the head ; 
they fill it, when dressed, with oil, paint, and the down 
of birds. Tney also paint their faces with red, blue? 
and white colors, but from whence they had them, or 
how they were prepared, they would not inform us, 
nor could we tell. Their clothing generally consists 
of skins, but they have two other sorts of garmeiits ; 
the one is made of the inner rind of some sort oi 
bark, twisted and united together like the woof of our 
coarse cloths ; the other very strongly resembles the 
New Zealand toga, and is also principally made with 
the hair of their dogs, which are mostly white and of 
the domestic kind. Upon this garment is displayed, 
very well executed, the manner of their catching the 
whale ; we saw nothing so well done by a savage in 
our travels. Their garments of all kinds are worn 
mantlewise, and the borders of them are fringed, or 
terminated wifh some particular kind of ornament. 
Their richest skins, whe;i converted to garments, are 
edged with a great curiosity. This is nothing less, 
than the very species of ivampnm, so well known on 
the opposite side of the co'itiiseot. It is identically 
the same ; and this wampum was not only found 



72 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

among all the aborigines we saw on this side of the 
continent, but even exists unmutilated on the opposite 
coasts of Norvh Asia. We saw them make use of no 
coverings to their feet or legs, and it was seldom they 
covered their heads. When they did, it was with a 
kind of a basket covering, made after the manner and 
form of the Chinese and Chinese Tartars' hats. 
Their language is very guttural, and if it were possi- 
ble to reduce it to our orthography, it would very 
much abound with consonants. In their manners they 
resemble the other aborigines of North America. 
They are bold and ferocious, sly and reserved, not 
easily provoked, but revengeful ; we saw no signs of 
religion or worship among them, and if they sacrifice, 
it is to the god of liberty." 

The fact here stated, respecting wampum, is curious, 
and confirms a remark of the author, that the diffusive 
power of commerce extended at that time throughout 
the whole continent of North America. " Nothing," 
says he, " can impede the progress of commerce among 
the uninformed part of mankind, but an intervention of 
too remote a communication by water." Civilized 
nations may impose restrictions, or adopt regulations, 
under the name of protecting laws, and thereby embar- 
rass commerce, but when left free to move in its own 
channels, there is no obscure nook of human society^ 
which it will not pervade. Ledyard discovered, 
among the natives on the Northwest coast, copper 
bracelets and knives, which could only have come to 
them across the continent from Hudson's Bay. Clap- 
perton found articles of English manufacture in the 
heart of Africa ; and the Russian embassy to Buka- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 73 

ria met with others from the same source in central 
Asia. The wampum of the North American Indians 
has been an article of traffic, and probably passed as 
a kind of currency among all the tribes from time 
immemorial. 

Ledyard's views of the commercial resources of 
Nootka Sound, and other parts of the Northwest 
Coast, must not be overlooked in this place, because 
they were the foundation of many important succeed- 
ing events of his life, in suggesting to him the benefits 
of a trafficing voyage to that coast. It will be seen 
hereafter, that he was the first, whether in Europe or 
America, to propose such a voyage as a mercantile 
enterprise, and that he persevered against numerous 
obstacles for several years, though with fruitless en- 
deavors, to accomplish his object. The furs, pur- 
chased of the natives for a mere trifle, were sold in 
China at an enormous advance, which had not been 
anticipated, but which gave ample proof of the advan- 
tages of such a commerce, undertaken upon a large 
scale. After enumerating some of the productions of 
the soil, he adds, " The light in which this country 
will appear most to advantage respects the variety of 
its animals, and the richness of their furs. They have 
foxes, sables, hares, marmosets, ermines, weazles, 
bears, wolves, deer, moose, dogs, otters, beavers, and a 
species of weazle called the glutton. The skin of this 
animal was sold at Kamtschatka, a Russian factory on 
the Asiatic coast, for sixty rubles, which is near twelve 
guineas, and had it been sold in China, it would have 
been worth thirty guineas. We purchased while here 
about fiteen hundred beaver, besides other skins, but 
10 



74 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

took none but the best, having no thoughts at that 
tune of using them to any other advantage, than con- 
verting them to the purposes of clothing ; but it after- 
wards happened that skins, which did not cost the pur- 
chaser sixpence sterlins:, sold in China for one hundred 
dollars. Neither did we purchase a quarter part of the 
beaver and other fur skins we might have done, and 
most certainly should have done, had we known of 
meeting the opportunity of disposing of them to such 
an astonishing profit." 

At Nootka Sound, and at the Sandwich Islands, 
Ledyard witnessed instances of cannibalism. In both 
places he saw human flesh prepared for food, but on 
one occasion only at each ; for, he says, the sailors ex- 
pressed such a horror at the sight, that the natives 
never ventured to repeat the act in their presence. In 
this part of his narrative he makes a digression on 
sacrifices, which I shall quote, not so much for its 
originality, or the conclusiveness of its reasoning, as 
to show his manner of considering the subject. His 
notion is, that cannibalism, or the custom of eating 
human flesh, which has by no means been uncommon 
among savage tribes, had its origin in the custom of 
sacrificing human victims. There is good evidence, 
that other tribes of North American Indians, besides 
those at Nootka, have been cannibals, if they are not 
so even at the present day. There was a time, when 
some philanthropists professed to doubt the existence 
of this habit, so shocking to humanity, but the mass 
of testimony brought to light since Cook's first voyage 
is such, as to conquer the most obstinate reluctance to 
conviction. Let the skeptic look at New Zealand, 
and cease to doubt. 



Ji 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 75 

" The custom of sacrificing is very ancient. The first 
instance we have of it is in the lives of Cain and Abel. 
Their sacrifices consisted in part of animal flesh, burnt 
upon an altar dedicated to God. This custom exists 
now among all the uncivilized and Jewish nations, in 
the essential rites requisite to prove it analogous to the 
first institution. The only material change in the 
ceremony is, that the barbarous nations have added 
human flesh. Whether this additional ingredient 
in the oblation took place at a remote subsequent 
period, by the antecedent intervention of any extraor- 
dinary circumstance independent of the original form, 
does not appear, unless we place the subsequent period 
below the time of Abraham, or perhaps below the 
time of Jephthah. The circumstance of Abraham's 
intended sacrifice of Isaac, to which he was enjoined 
by the Deity, though he absolutely did not do it, yet 
was sufficient to introduce the idea, that such a sacri- 
fice was the most pleasing to God, and as it was an 
event very remarkable, it probably became an histori- 
cal subject, and went abroad among other tribes, and 
was handed down among them by tradition, and liable 
to all the changes incident thereto ; and in time the 
story might have been, that Abraham not only oftered, 
but really did sacrifice his own son. But perhaps the 
story of Jephthah, judge of Israel, is more to the point. 
It is said, he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt-oflering 
to the god, who had been propitious to him in war ; 
which does appear to be an act independent of custom, 
or tradition, as it was performed wholly from the obliga- 
tions of a rash vow, made to the Deity in the fulness 
of a heart surcharged with hopes and fears. It is also 



76 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

a fact, that after this, particularly in the reign of the 
wicked Ahaz, it was a general custom, especially 
among the heathen, to make their children ' pass 
through the fire ; ' by which I suppose it is understood, 
that they were sacrificed with fire. 

" It seems, then, that the circumstance of adding 
human flesh in the ceremony of sacrificing, did take 
place in the years antecedent to Christ, and most 
probably from the example of Jephthah. After this we 
find it shifting places, attending the diffusive emigra- 
tions of the tribes, and commixing with mankind in 
general, but especially with those disunited from the 
chosen descendants of the great Abraham ; whose de- 
scendants, being constantly favored with civil and 
religious instructions from Heaven itself, were not only 
preserved from superstition and barbarity themselves, 
but were the means of furnishing the detached heathen 
with a variety of customs and ceremonies, that from 
the mere light of nature they never could have thought 
of ; nor could they preserve them pure and uncorrupt 
after they had adopted them. Even the favored 
Israelites were perpetually deviating into schisms and 
cabals, and frequently into downright idolatry, and all 
the vanity of superstition and unbridled nonsense, 
from the imbecility of human policy, when uninflu- 
enced by heavenly wisdom and jurisprudence. No 
wonder, then, that the separate tribes from the house 
of Abraham, though they primarily received many of 
their principles of civil and religious government from 
a pure fountain, should debase and contaminate them 
by the spurious conjunction of things derived from 
their own imaginations. And this seems to have been 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 77 

the course of things to this day. There hath always 
been a part of mankind conspicuous for knowledge, 
superior in wisdom, and favored by Heaven, from 
whom others are separated ; and these, like the moon, 
have only shone with borrowed light. Some customs 
may be local and indigenous to particular times and 
circumstances, both in the civilized and uncivilized 
world, but far the greater part are derivative, and 
were originally bestowed on man by his supreme 
Governor ; those that we find among the civilized and 
wise, measured on a philosophic scale, are uncorrupt- 
ed, while those that we find existing in parts remote 
from civilization and knowledge, though they have a 
resemblance which plainly intimates from whence they 
came, are yet debased, mutilated, and by some hardly 
known. But who, that had seen a human body sacri- 
ficed at Otaheite to their god of war, w^ould not per- 
ceive an analogy to ancient custom on those occasions, 
and attribute it rather to such custom, than to any 
other cause whatever. And the custom is not con- 
fined to Otaheite alone ; it pervades the islands 
throughout the Pacific ocean. It was the case with 
the ancient Britons. The Mexicans depopulated 
society by this carnivorous species of sacrifice. This 
could not be the effect of accident, want, or caprice. 
It may be worthy of notice to remark furthermore, 
that in the time of Ahaz, these sacrifices were 
made in high places. It was so in Mexico, and is so 
at Otaheite and other islands. The Mexicans flung 
their victims from the top of their temple, dedicated 
to their god of war. The Otaheitans and the other 
islanders prepare those oblations on their Morals." 



78 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Captain Cook remained a few days only at Nootka 
Sound, and then sailed northward coasting along the 
American shore, and making various geographical dis- 
coveries till he came to Bering's Strait, which sepa- 
rates Asia from America. In passing through this 
Strait, Ledyard says both continents were distinctly 
seen at the same time. Cook traversed the polar 
seas in the month of August, as far north as the ice 
would permit, in search of a northwest passage, but 
without success. As the season advanced, he returned 
to the south, intending to renew his attempts the next 
year. 

Few occurrences are recorded in the voyage back 
to the Sandwich Islands. There is one, however, 
which merits particular attention in this narrative, 
since our hero was the chief actor. The adventure 
is mentioned in Cook's Voyages, and by Captain 
Burney, as highly creditable to the enterprise and dis- 
creticui of Ledyard. It happened at the island of 
Onalaska, on the Northwest Coast. Ledyard himself 
wrote a particular description of it, which hardly 
admits of abridgment, and which may best be given, 
therefore, in his own words. 

" I have before observed, that we had noticed many 
appearances to the eastward of this, as far almost as 
Sandwich Sound, of an European intercourse, and 
that we had at this island in particular met with cir- 
cumstances, that did not only indicate such an inter- 
course, but seemed strongly to intimate, that some 
Europeans were actually somewhere on the spot. The 
appearances that led to these conjectures were such 
as these. We found among the inhabitants of this 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 79 

island two different kinds of people, the one we knew 
to be the aborigines of America, while we supposed 
the others to have come from the opposite coasts of 
Asia. There were two different dialects also ob- 
served, and we found them fond of tobacco, rum, and 
snuff. Tobacco we even found them possessed of, 
and we observed several blue linen shirts and drawers 
among them. But the most remarkable circumstance 
was a cake of rye meal newly baked, with a piece of 
salmon in it, seasoned with pepper and salt, which 
was brought and presented to Cook by a comely 
young chief, attended by two of those Indians, whom 
we supposed to be Asiatics. The chief seemed 
anxious to explain to Cook the meaning of the pre- 
sent, and the purport of his visit ; and he was so far 
successful as to persuade him, that there were some 
strangers in the country, who were white, and had 
come over the great waters in a vessel somewhat like 
ours, and though not so large, was yet much larger 
than theirs. 

" In consequence of this. Cook was determined to 
explore the island. It was difficult, however, to fix 
upon a plan, that would at once answer the purposes 
of safety and expedition. An armed body would 
proceed slowly, and if they should be cut off by the 
Indians, the loss in our present circumstances would 
be irreparable ; and a single person would entirely risk 
his life, though he would be much more expeditious if 
unmolested, and if he should be killed the loss would 
be only one. The latter seemed the best, but it was 
extremely hard to single out an individual, and com- 
mand him to go upon such an expedition ; and it was 



80 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

therefore thought proper to send a volunteer, or none. 
I was at this time, and indeed ever after, an intimate 
friend of John Gore, first lieutenant of the Resolution, 
a native of America as well as myself, and superior to 
me in command. He recommended me to Captain 
Cook to undertake the expedition, with which I im- 
mediately acquiesced.* Captain Cook assured me. 



* The following biographical sketch has been furnished from a 
source which gives it a claim to confidence. 

Captain John Gore was born about the year 1730, in the Colony of 
Virginia. It may be reasonably inferred, that he was brought up to the 
sea, as he served a long time on board the Windsor man-of-war, during 
the contest which preceded the American Revolution. In the suc- 
cessive voyages of the Dolphin, under Byron and Wallis, he served as 
a master's mate, and on his return to England with the latter, was 
promoted to a lieutenancy. The Endeavour was then preparing for a 
similar expedition, and having beon appointed her second lieutenant, 
he accompanied Captain Cook in his first voyage round the world. In 
the following year, 1772, he was appointed to the command of a mer- 
chant-ship, which had been engaged by Sir Joseph Banks for the pur- 
pose of visiting Iceland and the Hebrides ; and did not return again 
until after the departure of the Resolution and Adventure. 

In the last voyage of Captain Cook, he served as first lieutenant of 
the Resolution, and on the death of the navigator, and of Captain 
Gierke, he respectively succeeded to the captaincy of the Discovery 
and to the chief command. On his arrival in England, he was imme- 
diately promoted to the rank of Post Captain, and shortly after to the 
station in Greenwich Hospital, which was to have been resumed by 
Captain Cook, in the event of his having returned. He remained in 
this honorable retirement till his death, which is recorded in a publica- 
tion of the time, in the foUov/ing words. 

" August 10, 1790 — At his apartments in Greenwich Hospital, sin- 
cerely regretted by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. Cap- 
tain John Gore, one of the Captains of Greenwich Hospital, a most 
experienced seaman, and an honor to his profession. He had sailed 
four times round the world ; first with Commodore Byron ; secondly, 
with Captain Wallis, and the two last times with Captain James 
Cook." 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 81 

that he was happy I had undertaken it, as he was 
convinced I should persevere ; and after giving me 
some instructions how to proceed, he wished me well, 
and desired I would not be longer absent than a week 
if possible, at the expiration of which he should ex- 
pect me to return. If I did not return by that time, 
he should wait another week for me, and no longer. 
The young chief before-mentioned, and his two at- 
tendants, were to be my guides. I took with me 
some presents adapted to the taste of the Indians, 
brandy in bottles, and bread, but no other provisions. 
I went entirely unarmed, by the advice of Captain 
Cook. The first day we proceeded about fifteen 
miles into the interior part of the island, without any 
remarkable occurrence, until we approached a village 
just before night. This village consisted of about 
thirty huts, some of them large and spacious, though 
not very high. The huts are composed of a kind of 
slight frame, erected over a square hole sunk about 
four feet into the ground ; the frame is covered at the 
bottom with turf, and upwards it is thatched with 



In the theoretical attainments of his profession, Captain Gore may 
have been equalled by many, but as a practical navigator he was 
surpassed by none. As an officer, he appears to have blended a proper 
degree of prudence with the most unshaken intrepidity ; and his illus- 
trious commander declares, that he ever reposed the fullest confidence 
in his diligence and ability. In his disposition he was benevolent ; and 
his generosity (as is remarked by Captain King) was manifested on all 
occasions. But the character of a " very worthy man," ascribed to 
him by Van Troil, in his letters on Iceland, will comprise the enumera- 
tion of his virtues. 

Of his particular kindness and attention to his countrymen, we 
have a striking proof in the case of Ledyard. 
11 



82 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

coarse grass ; the whole village was out to see us, and 
men, women, and children crowded about me. I was 
conducted by the young chief, who was my guide, 
and seemed proud and assiduous to serve me, into one 
of the largest huts. I was surprised at the behavior 
of the Indians, for though they were curious to see 
me, yet they did not express that extraordinary curi- 
osity, that would be expected had they never seen an 
European before, and 1 was glad to perceive it, as it 
was an evidence in favor of what I wished to find 
true, namely, that there were Europeans now among 
them. The women of the house, which were almost the 
only ones I had seen at this island, were much more 
tolerable, than I expected to find them ; one, in par- 
ticular, seemed very busy to please me ; to her, there- 
fore, I made several presents, with which she was 
extremely well pleased. As it was now dark, my 
young chief intimated to me, that we must tarry 
where we were that night, and proceed further the 
next day ; to which I very readily consented, being 
much fatigued. Our entertainment, the subsequent 
part of the evening, did not consist of delicacies or 
much variety ; they had dried fish, and I had bread 
and spirits, of which we all participated. Ceremony 
was not invited to the feast, and nature presided over 
the entertainment. 

" At daylight Perpheela (which was the name of the 
young chief that was my guide) let me know that he 
was ready to go on ; upon which 1 flung off the skins 
I had slept in, put on my shoes and outside vest, and 
arose to accompany him, repeating my presents to my 
friendly hosts. We had hitherto travelled in a north- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 83 

eriy direction, but now went to the westward and 
southward, I was now so much relieved from the 
apprehension of any insult or injury from the Indians, 
that rny journey would have been even agreeable, had I 
not been taken lame, with a swelling in the feet, which 
rendered it extremely painful to walk ; the country 
was also rough and hilly, and the weather wet and 
cold. About three hours before dark we came to a 
large bay, which appeared to be four leagues over. 
Here my guide, Perpheela, took a canoe and all our 
baggage, and set off, seemingly to cross the bay. He 
appeared to leave me in an abrupt manner, and told 
me to follow the two attendants. This gave me some 
uneasiness. I now followed Perpheela's two attend- 
ants, keeping the bay in view, but we had not gone 
above six miles before we saw a canoe approaching us 
from the opposite side of the bay, in which were two 
Indians ; as soon as my guides saw the canoe, we ran 
to the shore from the hills and hailed them, and find- 
ing they did not hear us, we got some bushes and 
waved them in the air, which they saw, and stood 
directly for us. This canoe was sent by Perpheela to 
bring me across the bay, and shorten the distance of 
the journey. 

" It was beginning to be dark when the canoe came 
to us. It was a skin canoe, after the Esquimaux plan, 
with two holes to accommodate two sitters. The 
Indians that came in the canoe talked a little with my 
two guides, and then came to me and desired I would 
get into the canoe. This I did not very readily agree 
to, however, as there was no other place for me but to 
be thrust into the space between the holes, extended 



84 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

at length upon my back, and wholly excluded from 
seeing the way I went, or the power of extricating 
myself upon any emergency. But as there was no 
alternative, I submitted thus to be stowed away in 
bulk, and went head foremost very swift through the 
water about an hour, when I felt the canoe strike a 
beach, and afterwards lifted up and carried some dis- 
tance, and then set down again ; after which I was 
drawn out by the shoulders by three or four men, for 
it was now so dark that I could not tell who they were, 
though I was conscious I heard a language that was 
new. I was conducted by two of these persons, who 
appeared to be strangers, about forty rods, when I saw 
lights and a number of huts like those I left in the 
morning. As we approached one of them, a door 
opened, and discovered a lamp, by which, to my joy 
and surprise, I discovered that the two men, who held 
me by each arm, were Europeans, fair and comely, 
and concluded from their appearance they were Rus- 
sians, which I soon after found to be true. As we 
entered the hut, which was particularly long, I saw, 
arranged on each side, on a platform of plank, a 
number of Indians, who all bowed to me ; and as I 
advanced to the farther end of the hut, there were 
other Russians. When I reached the end of the 
room, I was seated on a bench covered with fur skins, 
and as 1 was much fatigued, wet, and cold, I had a 
change of garments brought me, consisting of a blue 
silk shirt and drawers, a fur cap, boots, and gown, all 
which I put on with the same cheerfulness they were 
presented with. Hospitality is a virtue peculiar to 
man, and the obligation is as great to receive as to 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 6b 

confer. As soon as I was rendered warm and com- 
fortable, a table was set before me with a lamp upon 
it ; all the Russians in the house sat down round me, 
and the bottles of spirits, tobacco, snuff, and whatever 
Perpheela had, were brought and set upon it ; these I 
presented to the company, intimating that they were 
presents from Commodore Cook, who was an Eng- 
lishman. One of the company then gave me to 
understand, that all the white people I saw there were 
subjects of the Empress Catherine of Russia, and 
rose and kissed my hand, the rest uncovering their 
heads. 1 then informed them as well as I could, that 
Commodore Cook wanted to see some of them, and 
had sent me there to conduct them to our ships. 

These preliminaries over, we had supper, which con- 
sisted of boiled whale, halibut fried in oil, and broiled 
salmon. The latter I ate, and they gave me rye-bread, 
but would eat none of it themselves. They were very- 
fond of the rum, which they drank without any mixture 
or measure. I had a very comfortable bed composed 
of different fur skins, both under and over me, and 
being harassed the preceding day, I went soon to rest. 
After 1 had lain down, the Russians assembled the 
Indians in a very silent manner, and said prayers after 
the manner of the Greek church, which is much 
like the Roman. 1 could not but observe with what 
particular satisfaction the Indians performed theii' de- 
voirs to God, through the medium of their little cru- 
cifixes, and with what pleasure they went through the 
multitude of ceremonies attendant on that sort of 
w^orship. I think it a religion the best calculated in 
the world to gain proselytes, when the people are either 



86 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

unwilling or unable to speculate, or when they cannot 
be made acquainted with the history and principles of 
Christianity without a formal education. 

" I had a very comfortable night's rest, and did not 
wake the next morning until late. As soon as I was 
up, I was conducted to a hut at a little distance from 
the one I had slept in, where I saw a number of plat- 
forms raised about three feet from the ground, and 
covered with dry coarse grass and some small green 
bushes. There were several of the Russians already 
here, besides those that conducted me, and several 
Indians who were heating water in a large copper 
caldron over a furnace, the heat of which, and the 
steam which evaporated from the hot water, rendered 
the hut, which was very tight, extremely hot and suf- 
focating. I soon understood this was a hot bath, of 
which I was asked to make use in a friendly manner. 
The apparatus being a little curious, I consented to it, 
but before I had finished undressing myself, I was 
overcome by the sudden change of the air, fainted 
away, and fell back on the platform I was sitting on. 
I was, however, soon relieved by having cold and 
lukewarm water administered to my face and different 
parts of my body. I finished undressing, and pro- 
ceeded as I saw the rest do, who were now all un- 
dressed. The Indians, who served us, brought us, as 
we set or extended ourselves on the platforms, water 
of different temperatures, from that which was as hot 
as we could bear, to quite cold. The hot water was 
accompanied with some hard soap and a flesh-brush ; 
it was not however thrown on the body from the dish, 
but sprinkled on with the green bushes. After this, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 87 

the water made use of was less warm, and by several 
gradations became at last quite cold, which concluded 
the ceremony. We again dressed and returned to our 
lodgings, where our breakfast was smoking on the 
table ; but the flavor of our feast, as well as its appear- 
ance, had nearly produced a relapse in my spirits, and 
no doubt would, if I had not had recourse to some of 
the brandy I had brought, which happily saved me. 
I was a good deal uneasy, lest the cause of my dis- 
composure should disoblige my friends, who meant to 
treat me in the best manner they could. 1 therefore 
attributed my illness to the bath, which might possibly 
have partly occasioned it, for I am not very subject to 
fainting. I could eat none of the breakfast, however, 
though far from wanting an appetite. It was mostly 
of whale, sea-horse, and bear, which, though smoked, 
dried, and boiled, produced a composition of smells 
very offensive at nine or ten in the morning. I there- 
fore desired I might have a piece of smoked salmon 
broiled dry, which I ate with some of my own biscuit. 
" After breakfast I intended to set off on my return 
to the ships, though there came on a disagreeable snow 
storm. But my new-found friends objected to it, and 
gave me to understand, that I should go the next day, 
and, if I chose, three of them would accompany me. 
This I immediately agreed to, as it anticipated a favor 
I intended to ask them, though I before much doubted 
whether they would comply with it. I amused my- 
self within doors, while it snowed without, by writing 
down a few words of the original languages of the 
American Indians, and of the Asiatics, who came over 
to this coast with these Russians from Kamtschatka. 



88 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" In the afternoon the weather cleared up, and I 
went out to see how those Russian adventurers were 
situated. I found tiie whole village to contain about 
thirty huts, all of which were built partly under 
ground, and covered with turf at the bottom, and 
coarse grass at the top. The only circumstance that 
can recommend them is their warmth, which is occa- 
sioned partly by their manner of construction, and 
partly by a kind of oven, in which they constantly 
keep a fire night and day. They sleep on platforms 
built on each side of the hut, on which they have a 
number of bear and other skins, which render them 
comfortable ; and as they have been educated in a 
hardy manner, they need little or no other support, 
than what they procure from the sea and from hunt- 
ing. The number of Russians were about thirty, and 
they had with them about seventy Kamtschadales, or 
Indians from Kamtschatka. These, with some of the 
American Indians, whom they had entered into friend- 
ship with, occupied the village, enjoyed every benefit 
in common with the Russians, and were converts to 
their religion. Such other of the aborigines of the 
island, as had not become converts to their sentiments 
in religious and civil matters, were excluded from such 
privileges, and were prohibited from wearing certain 
arms. 

I also found a small sloop of about thirty tons bur- 
then lying in a cove behind the village, and a hut near 
her, containing her sails, cordage, and other sea equip- 
age, and one old iron three pounder. It is natural to 
an ingenuous mind, when it enters a town, a house, or 
ship, that has been rendered famous by any particular 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 89 

event, to feel the full force of that pleasure, which re- 
sults from gratiijing a noble curiosity. 1 was no sooner 
informed, that this sloop was the same in which the 
famous Bering had performed those discoveries, which 
did him so much honor, and his country such great 
sei' ice, than I was determined to go on board of her, 
and indulge the generous feelings the occasion in- 
spired. I intimated my wishes to the man that 
accompanied me, who went back to the village, and 
brought a canoe, in which we went on board, where I 
remained about an hour, and then returned. This 
little bark belonged to Kamtschatka, and came from 
thence with the Asiatics already mentioned to this 
island, which they call Onalaska, in order to estab- 
lish a pelt and fur factory. They had been here 
about five years, and go over to Kamtschatka in her 
once a year to deliver their merchandise, and get a 
recruit of such supplies as they need from the chief 
factory there, of which I shall take further notice 
hereafter. 

" The next day I set off from this village, well satis- 
fied with the happy issue of a tour, which was now 
as agreeable as it was at first undesirable. I was ac- 
companied by three of the principal Russians, and 
some attendants. We embarked at the village in a 
large skin boat, much like our large whale-boats, row- 
ing with twelve oars ; and as we struck directly across 
the bay, we shortened our distance several miles, and 
the next day, passing the same village I had before 
been at, we arrived by sunset at the bay where the 
ships lay, and before dark I got on board with our new 
acquaintances. The satisfaction this discovery gave 
12 



90 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Cook, and the honor that redounded to me, may be 
easily imagined, and the several conjectures respecting 
the appearance of a foreign intercourse were rectified 
and confirmed." 

Such other researches, as could be pursued at that 
season, having been made at Onalaska, and along the 
coast. Cook left the continent and shaped his course 
for the Sandwich Islands. Two months' sailing 
brought him in view of one of the group, not discov- 
ered on his voyage to the north, called by the natives 
Owhyhee, or Hawyhee, as Ledyard writes it, or 
Hawaii, according to the modern orthography of the 
missionaries.* As our traveller is more minute in his 
description of the events that happened at this island, 
and particularly in his account of the death of Caj)tain 
Cook, than most narrators, and as he describes only 
what came within his own knowledge, it may be 
worth while to dwell a little upon these topics. 



* It is to be observed, that the sound expressed by Ledyard's ortho- 
graphy, and that of the missionaries, is exactly tlie same, he preserving 
the English sounds of the vowels, and they adopting the Italian. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 91 



CHAPTER V. 

The ships anchored in Kearakekua bay. — First interview with the natives. — 
Reverence with which they regarded Cook. — Tents erected for astronomical 
observations. — Ceremonies at the meeting of Cook with the old king. — 
Ledyard forms the project of ascending the high mountain in Hawaii, 
called by the natives Mouna Roa — Description of his ascent, and cause 
of his ultimate failure. — The natives begin to show symptoms of uneasi- 
ness at the presence of the strangers, and to treat them with disrespect. — 
Offended at the encroachment made on their Moral. — Cook departs 
from Kearakekua bay, but is compelled to return by a heavy storm, that 
overtakes him, and injures his ships. — Natives receive him coldly. — They 
steal one of the ship's boats, which Cook endeavors to recover. — Goes on 
shore for the purpose. — Is there attacked by the natives and slain. — Ledyard 
accompanied him on shore, and was near his person when killed. — His de- 
scription of the event. — Expedition sails for Kamtschatka, explores again the 
Polar seas, and returns to England. — Ledyard's opinions respecting the first 
peopling of the South Sea Islands. — Other remarks relating to this subject, 
founded on the analogy of languages, and manners of the people. — Character- 
istics of Ledyard's journal. — Estimation in which he held Captain Cook. 

The ships 'v^^ere several days among the islands, 
sailino; in different directions, before a harbor was dis- 
covered, in vi'hich they could anchor with safety, and 
where water and provisions could be procured. At 
length they entered a commodious bay on the south 
side of Hawaii, extending inland about two miles 
and a half, having the town of Kearakekua on one 
side, and Kiverua on the other. These towns con- 
tained fourteen hundred houses. The crowds of 
people that flocked to the shore, as the vessels sailed 
in and came to anchor, were prodigious. They had 
assembled from the interior and the coast. Three 
thousand canoes were counted in the bay, filled with 
men, women, and children, to the number of at least 



92 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

fifteen thousand, besides others that were swimming 
and sustaining themselves on floats in the water. The 
scene was animated and grotesque in the extreme. 
" The beach, the surrounding rocks, the tops of 
houses, the branches of trees, and the adjacent hills 
were all covered ; and the shouts of joy and admiration, 
proceeding from the sonorous voices of the men, con- 
fused with the shriller exclamations of the women 
dancing and clapping their hands, the oversetting of 
canoes, cries of the children, goods afloat, and hogs 
that were brought to market squealing, formed one of 
the most curious prospects, that can be imagined." 
But amidst this immense concourse, all was peace, 
harmony, hilarity, and good nature. Many of the 
natives were contented to gaze and wonder ; others, by 
their noise and actions, gave more imposing demon- 
strations of their joy and admiration ; while others 
were busy in bartering away hogs, sweet potatoes, 
and such provisions as they had, for articles that 
pleased their fancy. 

Cook's first visit to the shore was attended with a 
good deal of ceremony. Two chiefs, with long white 
poles as ensigns of their authority, made a passage 
among the canoes for his pinnace, and the people, 
as he was rowed along, covered their faces with their 
hands. When he landed, they fell prostrate en the 
beach before him, and a new set of officers opened a 
way for him through the crowd. The same expres- 
sions of awe were manifested, as he proceeded from 
the water's edge. " The people upon the adjacent 
hills, upon the houses, on the stone walls, and in the 
tops of the trees, also hid their faces, while he passed 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 93 

along the opening, but he had no sooner past them, 
than they rose and followed him. But if Cook hap- 
pened to turn his head, or look behind him, they were 
down again in an instant, and up again as soon, when- 
ever his face was reverted to some other quarter. 
This punctilious performance of respect in so vast a 
throng, being regulated solely by the accidental torn 
of one man's head, and the transition being sudden 
and short, rendered it very difficult even for an indivi- 
dual to be in proper attitude. If he lay prostrate hot 
a second too long, he was pretty sure not to rise again 
until he had been trampled upon by all behind him, 
and if he dared not to prostrate himself, he ivould 
stumble over those before him who did. This pro- 
duced a great many laughable circumstances, and as 
Cook walked very fast to get from the sand into 
the shades of the town, it rendered the matter still 
more difficult. At length, however, they adopted a 
a medium, that much better answered a running com- 
pliment, and did not displease the chiefs ; this was to 
go upon all fours, which was truly ludicrous among at 
least ten thousand people." This confusion ceased, 
however, before long, for Cook was conducted to the 
Morai, a sacred enclosure, which none but the chiefs 
and their attendants were allowed to enter. Here he 
was unmolested, and the presents were distributed. 

His first object w^as to procure a situation on shore 
to erect tents, and fit up the astronomical instruments. 
A suitable spot was granted, on condition that none of 
the seamen should leave the place after sunset, and 
with a stipulation on the part of the chiefs, that none 
of their people should enter it by night. To make 



94 LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. 

this effectual, the ground was marked out bj white 
rods, and put under the restriction of the lahu, which 
no native dared violate, being restrained by the super- 
stitious fear of offending the atuas, or invisible spirits 
of the island. This caution surprised Cook a little, 
as he had not witnessed it among the natives of the 
other South Sea Islasjds. It appeared reasonable, and 
he consented to it, not foreseeing the mischiefs to 
which it would ultimately lead. Ledjard considers it 
the origin of all the disasters that followed. Restric- 
tions were imposed, which could not be enforced ; 
thej were violated secretly at first, then with less re- 
serve, and at last openly. The men in the tents were 
the first to transgress, by going abroad contrary to the 
agreement. The native wonien were tempted by 
them to pass over the prescribed limits, although they 
shuddered at the apprehension of the consequences, 
which might follow such a disregard ol the tabu. 
When they found, however, that no harm came upon 
them from the enraged atuas, their fears by degrees 
subsided. This intercourse was not such, as to raise 
the Europeans in the estimation of the islanders. It 
was begun by stealth, and prosecuted in violation of 
the sacred injunction of the tabu, and as no measures 
were taken to prevent it, the chiefs naturally consid- 
ered it an infraction of the agreement. Ledyard was 
himself stationed on shore with a guard of marines to 
protect the tents, and enjoyed the best opportunity for 
seeing and knowing what passed in that quarter. 

Harmony, and a good understanding among all 
parties, prevailed for several days. Cook went 
through the ceremony of being anointed with cocoa- 



LIfE OF JOHN LEDYABD. 95 

nut oil by one of the chief priests, and of listening; to 
a speech half an hour in length, on the occasion, 
from the same high dignitary. When Teraiobu, the 
king, a feeble old man. returned from one of the other 
islands, where he had been on a visit, there was another 
ceremony, conducted with great form, at his meeting 
with Cook. Entertainments succeeded, and good 
cheer and good humor were seen everywhere. Cook 
first invited Teraiobu and his chiefs on board to dinner. 
They were temperate, drinking water only, and eating 
but little. The old king satisfied himself entirely 
with bread-fruit and water, but the yoimger chiefs 
comprised in their repast the luxury of pork and fowls. 
They all went away well pleased, and the king invited 
Cook to dine with him the next day at his royal resi- 
dence. The invitation was accepted ; and when the 
hour came, the navigator and his officers were sump- 
tuously feasted on baked hog and potatoes, neatly 
spiead out on green plantain leaves, and for beverage 
they were supplied with cocoanut milk. The day 
was closed with gymnastic exercises, wrestling and 
boxing, ordered by the old king for the amusement of 
his guests. On the next evening Cook in his turn 
exhibited fireworks on shore, much to the amazement 
of the beholders, who had never before seen such a 
display. Many laughable incidents occurred. When 
the first sky-rocket was discharged, the multitude was 
seized with the greatest consternation. Cook and his 
officers " could hardly hold the old feeble Teraiobu, 
and some elderly ladies of quality that sat among 
them ; and before they had recovered from this parox- 
ysm, nearly the whole host, that a moment before 



96 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

surroimded them, had fled." Some were too much 
fi-ighteiied to return any more, but others came back 
as their fears abated, and had the courage to keep 
their 2;round through the remainder of the exhibition. 

Thus all things were pro* eeding, as Ledyard ex- 
presses it, " in the old Otaheite style ; " the visiters 
and the islanders were mutually pleased with each 
other, kind offices were reciprocated, abundant stores 
of provisions were carried on board, and prospects 
were favorable. 

While affairs were in this train, Ledyard formed the 
design of ascending the high peak, which rises from 
the centre of the island, and is called by the natives 
Mouna Roa. Although this mountain stands on an 
island only ninety miles in diameter, yet it is one of 
the highest in the world. Its elevation has been esti- 
mated to be about eighteen thousand feet, and its 
sumniit is usually covered with snow. From his sta- 
tion at the tents, Ledyard sent a note on board the 
Resolution to Captain Cook, asking permission to 
make this jaunt, for the double purpose of exploring 
the interior, and, if possible, climbing to the top of the 
imountain. The request was granted. The botanist, 
and the gunner of the Resolution, were deputed by 
the commander to accompany him. Natives were 
also engaged to carry the baggage, and serve as guides 
through the woods. A tropical sun was then pouring 
its rays on them at the bay of Kearakekua, but the 
snows visible on the peak of Mouna Roa warned 
them to provide additional clothing, and guard against 
the effects of a sudden transition from heat to cold. 
The party at length set off. On first leaving the town 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 97 

their route lay through enclosed plantations of sweet 
potatoes, with a soil of lava, tilled in some places with 
difficulty. Now and then a patch of sugar-cane was 
seen in a moist place. Next came the open planta- 
tions, consisting chiefly of bread-fruit trees, and the 
land began to ascend more abruptly. 

" We continued up the ascent," he writes, " to the 
distance of a mile and a half further, and found the land 
thick covered with wild fern, among which our botanist 
found a new species. It was now near sunset, and 
being upon the skirts of these woods, that so remark- 
ably surrounded this island at a uniform distance of 
four our five miles from the shore, we concluded to 
halt, especially as there was a hut hard by, that would 
afford us a better retreat during the night, than what 
we might expect if we proceeded. When we reached 
the hut, we found it inhabited by an elderly man, his 
wife, and daughter, the emblem of innocent, unin- 
structed beauty. They were somewhat discomposed 
at our appearance and equipment, and would have left 
their house through fear, had not the Indians, who 
accompanied us, persuaded them otherwise, and at 
last reconciled them to us. We sat down together 
before the door, and from the height of the situation 
we had a complete retrospective view of our route, of 
the town, of part of the bay, and one of our ships, 
besides an extensive prospect on the ocean, and a dis- 
tant view of three of the neighboring islands. 

" As we had proposed remaining at this hut through 
the night, and were willing to preserve what provi- 
sions we had ready dressed, we purchased a little pig, 
and had him dressed by our host, who, finding his ac- 
13 



98 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

count in his visitants, bestirred himself and soon had 
it ready. After supper we had some of our brandy 
dikited with the mountain water, and we had so long 
been confined to the poor brackish water at the bay 
below, that it was a kind of nectar to us. As soon 
as the sun was set, we found a considerable difference 
in the state of the air. At night a heavy dew fell, 
and we felt it very chilly, and had recourse to our 
blankets, notwithstanding we were in the hut. The 
next morning, when we came to enter the woods, we 
found there had been a heavy rain, though none of it 
had approached us, notwithstanding we were within 
two hundred yards of the skirts of the forest. And it 
seemed to be a matter of fact, both from the informa- 
tion of the natives and our own observations, that 
neither the rains nor the dews descended lower than 
where the woods terminated, unless at the equinoxes 
or some periodical conjuncture, by which means the 
space between the woods and the shore is rendered 
warm, and fit for the purposes of culture, and the 
vegetation of tropical productions. We traversed 
these woods by a compass, keeping a direct course for 
the peak, and was so happy the first day as to find a 
footpath that tended nearly our due course, by which 
means we travelled by estimation about fifteen miles, 
and though it would have been no extraordinary march, 
had circumstances been different, yet, as we found 
them, we thought it a very great one ; for it was not only 
excessively miry and rough, but the way was mostly an 
ascent, and we had been unused to walking, and espe- 
cially to carrying such loads as we had. Our Indian 
companions were much more fatigued than we were. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 99 

though they had nothing to carry, and, what displeased 
us very much, would not carry anything. Our botanical 
researches delayed us somewhat. The sun had not 
set when we halted, yet meeting" with a situation that 
pleased us, and not being limited as to time, we spent 
the remaining part of the day as humor dictated, some 
in botanizing, and those who had fowling-pieces with 
them in shooting. For my part I could not but think 
the present appearance of our encampment claimed a 
part of our attention, and therefore set about some 
alterations and amendments. It was the trunk of a 
tree, that had fallen by the side of the path, and lay 
with one end transversely over another tree, that had 
fallen before in an opposite direction, and as it mea- 
sured twentytwo feet in circumference, and lay four 
feet from the ground, it afforded very good shelter 
except at the sides, which defect I supplied by large 
pieces of bark, and a good quantity of boughs, which 
rendered it very commodious. We slept through the 
night under it much better than we had done the pre- 
ceding, notwithstanding there was a heavy dew, and 
the air cold. 

"The next morning we set out in good spirits, 
hoping that day to reach the snowy peak ; but we 
had not gone a mile, before the path, that had 
hitherto so much facilitated our progress, began not 
only to take a direction southward of west, but had 
been so little frequented as to be almost effaced. In 
this situation we consulted our Indian convoy, but to 
no purpose. We then advised among ourselves, and 
at length concluded to proceed by the nearest route 
without any beaten track, and went in this manner 



100 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

about four miles further, finding the way even more 
steep and rough, than we had yet experienced, but 
above all impeded by such impenetrable thickets, as 
rendered it impossible for us to proceed any further. 
We therefore abandoned our design, and returning in 
our own track, reached the retreat we had improved the 
last night, having been the whole day in walking only 
about ten miles, and we had been very assiduous too. 
We found the country here, as well as at the seashore, 
universally overspread with lava, and also saw several 
subterranean excavations, that had every appearance of 
past eruption and fire. Our botanist to day met with 
great success, and we had also shot a number of fine 
birds of the liveliest and most variegated plumage, 
that any of us had ever met with, but we heard no 
melody among them. Except these we saw no other 
kind of birds but the screechowl ; neither did we see 
any kind of quadruped, but we caught several curious 
insects. The woods here are thick and luxuriant, the 
largest trees being nearly thirty feet in the girth, and 
these with the shrubbery underneath, and the whole 
intersected with vines, render it very umbrageous. 

" The next day, about two in the afternoon, we 
cleared the woods by our old route, and by six o'clock 
reached the tents, having penetrated about twentyfour 
miles, and, we supposed, within eleven of the peak. 
Our Indians were extremely fatigued, though they had 
no baggage." * 



* This mountain was never ascended to the top, till very recent- 
ly. Mr Goodrich, one of the American Missionarioe on the island, 
was the first person, who persevered in reaching the summit. He 
ascended on a side of the mountain nearly opposite to that, where 
Ledyard made the attempt. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 101 

Were we to follow the author closely m his narra- 
tive, we should here introduce his description of the 
island of Hawaii, and of the various objects that at- 
tracted his notice. He speaks of the geological struc- J 
ture of the island, its soil, productions, climate, and 
animals ; the customs of the natives, their supersti- 
tions, government, and criminal offences ; their way 
of living, and the remarkable differences between 
them and the other islanders of the South Sea. On 
some of these topics his remarks are original and 
striking, but we must pass over them, and hasten to 
particulars of higher interest. 

Before two weeks had expired, the natives began to 
show symptoms of uneasiness at the presence of the 
foreigners, and to treat them with diminished respect. 
In truth, very little pains were taken to preserve 
their good opinion, or to keep alive their kind feelings ; 
and one untoward event after another was perpetually 
occurring to lessen the admiration, which novelty had 
excited, and to alienate them from their newly made 
friends. Ledyard mentions several incidents of this 
description, which are not alluded to in the authorized 
account of Cook's last voyage. Some of them, 
probably, were not known to the writer, and others 
were omitted from motives of policy, as being rather 
evidences of neglect or injudicious management, than 
of cautious or discreet measures. The natives first 
began to practise slight insults, which seemed to pro- 
ceed rather from a mischievous, than a malignant 
temper. The master's mate was ordered to take on 
board the rudder of the Resolution, which had been 
sent ashore for repairs. It was too heavy for his men 



102 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

to remove, and he asked the natives to assist them. 
Fifty or sixty immediately caught hold of the rope 
attached to the rudder, and began to pull. But 
whether in sport, or by design, they caused only em- 
barrassment and disorder. " This exasperated the 
mate, and he struck tvi^o or three of them, vi^hich being 
observed by a chief that was present, he interposed. 
The mate haughtily told the chief to order his people 
to assist him, and the chief as well as the people hav- 
ing no intention, but of showing their disregard and 
scorn, which had long been growing towards us, 
laughed at him, hooted him, and threw stones at him 
and the crew, who taking up some trunnels that were 
lying by, fell upon the Indians, beat many of them 
much, and drove the rest several rods back ; but the 
crowd collecting at a little distance, formed, and began 
to use abusive language, challenge our people and 
throw stones, some of which came into our encamp- 
ment." Ledyard's guard of marines was ordered out, 
*' at least to make a show of resentment," and the 
commanding officer at the tents went out himself to 
quell the disturbance ; but they were all pelted with 
stones, and retired, leaving the field to the natives till 
night, when the rudder was taken on board. 

" Instances of this kind, though of less apparent 
importance, had happened several times before this on 
shore ; but on board hardly a day passed after the first 
week, that did not produce some petty disturbance in 
one or both of the ships, and they chiefly proceeded 
from thefts perpetrated by the natives in a manner 
little short of robbery. Cook and Teraiobu were fully 
employed in adjusting and compromising these differ- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 103 

ences, and as there was really a reciprocal disinterested 
regard between him and this good old man, it tended 
much to facilitate these amicable negotiations. But 
in the midst of these measures, Cook was insensible 
of the daily decline of his greatness and importance 
in the estimation of the natives ; nay, so confident was 
he, and so secure in the opposite opinion, that on the 
fourth of February he came to Kearakekua, with his 
boats, to purchase and carry off the fence round the 
Morai, which he wanted to wood the ships with. 
When he landed, he sent for the Priest Kikinny, and 
some other chiefs, and offered them two iron hatchets 
for the fence. The chiefs were astonished, not only at 
the inadequate price, but at the proposal, and refused 
him. 

" Cook was as much chagrined as they were sur- 
prised, and, not meeting with the easy acquiescence 
he expected to his requisitions, gave immediate orders 
to his people to ascend the Morai, break down the 
fence and load the boats with it, leading the way him- 
self to enforce his orders. The poor dismayed chiefs, 
dreading his displeasure, which they saw approaching, 
followed him upon the Morai to behold the fence that 
enclosed the mansions of their noble ancestors, and 
the images of their gods, torn to pieces by a handful 
of rude strangers, without the power, or at least 
without the resolution, of opposing their sacrilegious 
depredations. When Cook had ascended the Morai, 
he once more offered the hatchets to the chiefs. It 
was a very unequal price, if the honest chiefs would 
have accepted of the bribe ; and Cook offered it only 
to evade the imputation of taking their property with- 



104 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

out payment. The chiefs again refused it. Cook 
then added another hatchet, and, kindling into resent- 
ment, told them to take it or nothing. Kikinny, to 
whom the offer was made, turned pale, and trembled 
as he stood, but still refused. Cook thrust them into 
his garment, that was folded round him, and left him 
immediately to hasten the execution of his orders. 
As for Kikinny, he turned to some of his menials, and 
made them take the hatchets out of his garment, not 
touching them himself. By this time a considerable 
concourse of the natives had assembled under the 
walls of the Morai, where we were throwing the wood 
down, and were very outrageous, and even threw the 
wood and images back as we threw them down ; and 
I cannot think what prevented them from proceeding 
to greater lengths ; however, it so happened that we 
got the whole into the boats, and safely on board." 

This story is told differently by Captain King, who 
wrote that part of Cook's Third Voyage, which relates 
to the Sandwich Islands. As he represents it, no ob- 
jection was made to the proposal for taking away the 
enclosure of wood, that surrounded the Morai, and even 
the images were tumbled down and carried off, under 
the eyes of the priests, without any resistance or dis- 
approbation on their part. This would seem improba- 
ble. The Morai was the depositary of the dead, a 
place where the images of the gods were kept, and 
solemn ceremonies performed. It is not easy to re- 
concile the two accounts, but Ledyard was employed 
with others in removing the fence, and he manifestly 
describes what he saw. He may not have been so 
well acquainted with the manner and conditions of 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD., 105 

the purchase, as Captain King, yet in the detail of 
occurrences in which he was engaged, and their 
effects on the people around him, it is hardly possible 
that he should have been mistaken. Again, he writes, 

" On the evening of the fifth we struck our tents, 
and everything was taken on board, and it was mani- 
festly much to the satisfaction of the natives. A 
little after dark an old house, that stood on a corner 
of the Moral, took fire and burnt down ; this we sup- 
posed was occasioned by our people's carelessly leav- 
ing their fire near it, but this was not the case. The 
natives burnt it themselves, to show us the resentment 
they entertained towards us, on account of our using 
it without their consent, and indeed manifestly against 
it. We had made a sail-loft of one part of it, and an 
hospital for our sick of the other, though it evidently 
was esteemed by the natives as holy as the rest of the 
Moral, and ought to have been considered so by us." 

They bad now been nineteen days in Kearakekua 
bay ; the ships had been repaired, the seamen re- 
cruited after their long toils, provisions for several 
months laid in, and nothing more was wanting to ena- 
ble them to go again to sea, but a supply of water. 
This was not to be had at Kearakekua, except of a 
brackish quality, and it was resolved to search for it 
on some of the other islands. For this object the 
vessels were unmoored, and sailed out of the har- 
bor. No sooner had they got to sea, than a violent 
gale came on, which lasted three days and injured so 
seriously the Resolution's foremast, that Cook was 
compelled to return speedily to his old anchorage 
ground and make repairs. Our voyager is so circum- 
14 



106' LIFE OF JOHN LEDVARD. 

stantial in his account from this point, till the tragical 
death of Captain Cook, that I shall not mar his narra- 
tive by curtailing it. The only thing necessary to be 
premised is, that he was one of the small party, who 
landed with the unfortunate navigator on the morning 
of his death, and was near him during the fatal con- 
test, although this does not appear from his own state- 
ment. 

" Our return to this bay was as disagreeable to us, 
as it was to the inhabitants, for we were reciprocally 
tired of each other. They had been oppressed, and 
were weary of our prostituted alliance, and we were 
aggrieved by the consideration of wanting the provi- 
sions and refreshments of the country, which w^e had 
every reason to suppose, from their behavior antece- 
dent to our departure, would now be withheld from us, 
or brought in such small quantities as to be worse than 
none. What we anticipated was true. When we en- 
tered the bay, where before we had the shouts of thou- 
sands to welcome our arrival, we had the mortification 
not to see a single canoe, and hardly any inhabitants 
in the towns. Cook was chagrined, and his people 
were soured. Towards night, however, the canoes 
came in, but the provisions both in quantity and quali- 
ty plainly informed us, that times were altered ; and 
what was very remarkable was the exorbitant price 
they asked, and the particular fancy they all at once 
took to iron daggers or dirks, which were the only arti- 
cles that were any ways current, with the chiefs at 
least. It was also equally evident from the looks of 
the natives, as well as every other appearance, that 
our former friendship w^as at an end, and that we had 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 107 

iiothins: to do but to hasten our departure to some dif- 
ferent island, where our vices were not known, and 
where our extrinsic virtues might gain us another 
short space of being wondered at, and doing as we 
pleased, or, as our tars expressed it, of being happy 
by the month. 

" Nor was their passive appearance of disgust all 
we had to fear, nor did it continue long. Before dark 
a canoe with a number of armed chiefs came along- 
side of us without provisions, and indeed without any 
perceptible design. After staying a short time only, 
they went to the Discovery, where a part of them 
went on board. Here they affected great friendship, 
and unfortunately overacting it, Gierke was suspi- 
cious, and ordered two sentinels on the gangways. 
These men were purposely sent by the chief, who 
had formerly been so very intimate with Gierke, and 
afterwards so ill treated by him, with the charge 
of stealing his jolly-boat. They came with a deter- 
mination of mischief, and effected it. After they 
were all returned to the canoe but one, they got their 
paddles and everything ready for a start. Those in 
the canoes, observing the sentry to be watchful, took 
off his attention by some conversation, that they knew 
would be pleasing to him, and by this means favored 
the designs of the man on board, who watching his 
opportunity snatched two pairs of tongs, and other iron 
tools that then lay close by the armorers at work at 
the for^e, and mounting the gangway-rail, with one 
leap threw himself and his goods into the canoe, that 
was then upon the move, and, taking up his paddle 
joined the others ; and standing directly for the shorej 



108 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

they were out of our reach almost instantaneously, 
even before a musket could be had from the arms- 
chest to fire at them. The sentries had only hangers. 
This was the boldest exploit that had yet been at- 
tempted, and had a bad aspect. Gierke immediately 
sent to the commodore, who advised him to send a boat 
on shore to endeavor at least to regain the goods, if 
they could not the men who took them ; but the 
errand was as ill executed as contrived, and the mas- 
ter of the Discovery was glad to return with a severe 
drubbing from the very chief, who had been so mal- 
treated by Gierke. The crew were also pelted with 
stones, and had all their oars broken, and they had not 
a single weapon in the boat, not even a cutlass, 
to defend themselves. When Gook heard of this, he 
went armed himself in person to the guard on shore, 
took a file of marines and went through the whole 
town demanding restitution, and threatening the de- 
linquents and their abettors with the severest punish- 
ments ; but not being able to effect anything, he came 
oflfjust at sunset highly displeased, and not a little 
concerned at the bad appearance of things. But even 
this was nothing to what followed. 

" On tire thirteenth, at night, the Discovery's large 
cutter, which was at her usual moorings at the bower 
buoy, was taken away. On the fourteenth the cap- 
tains met to consult what should be done on this 
alarming occasion ; and the issue of their opinions was, 
that one of the two captains should land with armed 
boats and a guard of marines at Kiverua, and attempt 
to persuade Teraiobu who was then at his house in 
that town, to come on board upon a visit, and that 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 109 

when he was on board he should be kept prisoner, until 
his subjects should release him by a restitution of the 
cutter ; and if it was afterwards thought proper, he, or 
some of the family who might accompany him, should 
be kept as perpetual hostages for the good behavior of 
the people, during the remaining part of our continu- 
ance at Kearakekua. This plan was the more ap- 
proved of by Cook, as he had so repeatedly on former 
occasions to the southward employed it with success. 
Gierke was then in a deep decline of his health, and 
too feeble to undertake the affair, though it naturally 
devolved upon him, as a point of duty not well trans- 
ferable ; he therefore begged Cook to oblige him so 
much, as to take that part of the business of the day 
upon himself in his stead. This Cook agreed to, but 
previous to his landing made some additional arrange- 
ments, respecting the possible event of things, though 
it is certain from the appearance of the subsequent 
arrangements, that he guarded more against the flight 
of Teraiobu, or those he could wish to see, than from 
an attack, or even much insult. The disposition of our 
guards, when the movements began, was thus. Cook 
in his pinnace with six private marines ; a corporal, 
sergeant, and two lieutenants of marines went ahead, 
followed by the launch with other marines and seamen 
on one quarter, and the small cutter on the other, 
with only the crew on board. This part of the guard 
rowed for Kearakekua. Our large cutter and two 
boats from the Discovery had orders to proceed to the 
mouth of the bay, form at equal distances across, and 
prevent any communication by water from any other 
part of the island to the towns witnin the bay, or from 



110 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

those without. Cook landed at Kiverua about nine 
o'clock in the morning, with the marines in the pin- 
nace, and went by a circuitous march to the house of 
Teraiobu, in order to evade the suspicion of anj de- 
sign. This route led through a considerable part of 
the town, which discovered every symptom of mis- 
chief, though Cook, blinded by some fatal cause, 
could not perceive it, or too self-confident, would not 
regard it. 

" The town was evacuated by the women and chil- 
dren, who had retired to the circumjacent hills, and ap- 
peared almost destitute of men ; but there were at that 
time two hundred chiefs, and more than twice that 
number of other men, detached and secreted in differ- 
ent parts of the houses nearest to Teraiobu, exclusive 
of unknown numbers without the skirts of the town, 
and those that were seen were dressed many of them 
in black. When the guard reached Teraiobu's house, 
Cook ordered the lieutenant of marines to go in and 
see if he was at home, and if he was, to bring him 
out ; the lieutenant went in, and found the old man 
sitting with two or three old women of distinction, 
and when he gave Teraiobu to understand that Cook 
was without, and wanted to see him, he discovered 
the greatest marks of uneasiness, but arose and accom- 
panied the lieutenant out, holding his hand. When 
he came before Cook, he squatted down upon his hams 
as a mark of humiliation, and Cook took him by the 
hand from the lieutenant, and conversed with him. 

" The appearance of our parade both by water and 
on shore, though conducted with the utmost silence, 
and with as little ostentation as possible, had alarmed 



LIFE OF JOHN lEDYARD. Ill 

the towns on both sides of the bay, but particularly 
Kiverua, where the people were in complete order for 
an onset ; otherwise it would have been a matter of 
surprise, that though Cook did not see twenty men in 
passing through the town, yet before he had conversed 
ten minutes with Teraiobu, he was surrounded by 
three or four hundred people, and above half of them 
chiefs. Cook grew uneasy when he observed this, and 
was the more urgent in his persuasions with Teraiobu 
to go on board, and actually persuaded the old man to 
go at length, and led him within a rod or two of the 
shore ; but the just fears and conjectures of the chiefs 
at last interposed. They held the old man back, and 
one of the chiefs threatened Cook, when he attempted 
to make them quit Teraiobu. Some of the crowd 
now cried out, that Cook was going to take their king 
from them and kill him, and there was one in particu- 
lar that advanced towards Cook in an attitude that 
alarmed one of the guard, who presented his bayonet 
and opposed him, acquainting Cook in the mean time 
of the danger of his situation, and that the Indians in 
a few minutes would attack him ; that he had over- 
heard the man, whom he had just stopped from rush- 
ing in upon him, say that our boats which were out in 
the harbor had just killed his brother, and he would 
be revenged. Codk attended to what this man said, 
and desired him to show him the Indian, that had 
dared to attempt a combat with him, and as soon as 
he was pointed out, Cook fired at him with a blank. 
The Indian, perceiving he received no damage from 
the fire, rushed from without the crowd a second time, 
and threatened any one that should oppose him. Cook, 



112 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

perceiving this, fired a ball, which entering the Indian's 
groin, he fell and was drawn off by the rest. 

" Cook perceiving the people determined to oppose 
his designs, and that he should not succeed without 
further bloodshed, ordered the lieutenant of marines, 
Mr Phillips, to withdraw his men and get them into 
the 'boats, which w^ere then Ijing ready to receive 
them. This was effected by the sergeant, but the in- 
stant they began to retreat, Cook was hit with a stone, 
and perceiving the man who threw it, shot him dead. 
The officer in the boats observing the guard retreat, 
and hearing this third discharge, ordered the boats 
to fire. This occasioned the guard to face about and 
fire, and then the attack became general. Cook and 
Mr Phillips were together a few paces in the rear of the 
guard, and, perceiving a general fire without orders, 
quitted Teraiobu, and ran to the shore to put a stop 
to it, but not being able to make themselves heard, 
and being close pressed upon by the chiefs, they joined 
the guard, who fired as they retreated. Cook, having 
at length reached the margin of the water, between the 
fire of the boats, waved with his hat for them to cease 
firing and come in ; and while he was doing this, a 
chief from behind stabbed him with one of our iron 
daggers, just under the shoulder-blade, and it passed 
quite through his body. Cook fell with his face in the 
water, and immediately expired. Mr Phillips, not 
being able any longer to use his fusee, drew his 
sword, and engaging the chief whom he saw kill Cook, 
soon despatched him. His guard in the mean time 
were all killed but two, and they had plunged into 
the water, and were swimming to the boats. He 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 113 

Stood thus for some time the butt of all their force, and 
being as complete in the use of his sword, as he was 
accomplished, his noble achievements struck the bar- 
barians with awe ; but being wounded, and growing 
faint from loss of blood and excessive action, he 
plunged into the sea with his sword in his hand and 
swam to the boats ; where, however, he was scarcely 
taken on board, before somebody saw one of the 
marines, that had swum from the shore, lying flat upon 
the bottom. Phillips, hearing this, ran aft, threw 
himself in after him, and brought him up with him to 
the surface of the water, and both were taken in. 

" The boats had hitherto kept up a very hot fire, and, 
lying off without the reach of any weapon but stones, 
had received no damage, and, being fully at leisure to 
keep up an unremitted and uniform action, made great 
havoc among the Indians, particularly among the 
chiefs, who stood foremost in the crowd and were 
most exposed ; but whether it was from their bravery, 
or ignorance of the real cause that deprived so many 
of them of life, that they made such a stand, may be 
questioned, since it is certain that they in general, if not 
universally, understood heretofore, that it was the fire 
only of our arms that destroyed them. This opinion 
seems to be strengthened by the circumstance of the 
large, thick mats, they were observed to wear, which 
were also constantly kept wet ; and, furthermore, the 
Indian that Cook fired at with a blank discovered no 
fear, when he found his mat unburnt, saying in their 
language, when he showed it to the by-standers, that 
no fire had touched it. This may be supposed at least 
to have had some influence. It is, however, certain, 
15 



114 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

whether from one or both these causes, that the num- 
bers that fell made no apparent impression on those 
who survived ; they were immediately taken off, and 
had their places supplied in a constant succession. 

" Lieutenant Gore, who commanded as first lieute- 
nant under Cook in the Resolution, which lay opposite 
the place where this attack was made, perceiving with 
his glass that the guard on shore was cut off, and that 
Cook had fallen, immediately passed a spring upon 
one of the cables, and, bringing the ship's starboard 
guns to bear, fired two round shot over the boats into 
the middle of the crowd ; and both the thunder of the 
cannon, and the effects of the shot, operated so power- 
fully, that it produced a most precipitate retreat from 
the shore to the town." 

" Our mast that was repairing at Kearakekua, and 
our astronomical tents were protected only by a corpo- 
ral and six marines, exclusive of the carpenters at 
work upon it, and demanded immediate protection. 
As soon, therefore, as the people were refreshed with 
some grog and reinforced, they were ordered thither. 
In the mean time the marine, w ho had been taken up 
by Mr Phillips, discovered returning life, and seemed 
in a way to recover, and we found Mr Phillips's 
wound not dangerous, though very bad. We also ob- 
served at Kiverua, that our dead were drawn off by 
the Indians, which was a mortifying sight ; but after 
the boats were gone they did it in spite of our cannon, 
which were firing at them several minutes. They 
had no sooner effected this matter, than they retired 
to the hills to avoid our shot. The expedition to 
Kiverua had taken up about an hour and an half, and 
we lost, besides Cook, a corporal and three marines. 



LIFE t>F JOHN LEDYARD. 115 

" Notwithstanding the despatch that was used in 
sending a force to Kearakekua, the small party there 
were already attacked before their arrival, but by an 
excellent manoeuvre of taking possession of the 
Moral, they defended themselves without any material 
damage, until the succours came. The natives did 
not attempt to molest the boats in their debarkation of 
our people, which we much wondered at, and they 
soon joined the others upon the Moral, amounting in 
the whole to about sixty. Mr Phillips, notwithstand- 
ing his wound, was present, and in conjunction with 
Lieutenant King carried the chief command. The plan 
was to act only defensively, until we could get our mast 
into the water, to tow off, and our tents into the boats ; 
and as soon as that was effected, to return on board. 
This we did in about an hour's time, but not without 
killing a number of the natives, who resolutely attacked 
us, and endeavored to mount the walls of the Morai, 
where they were lowest ; but being opposed with our 
skill in such modes of attack, and the great superiority 
of our arms, they were even repulsed with loss, and at 
length retreated among the houses adjacent to the 
Morai, which affording a good opportunity to retreat 
to our boats, we embraced it, and got off all well. 
Our mast was taken on the booms, and repaired there, 
though to disadvantage." 

This account is the more valuable, as having been 
drawn up by one, who had a personal knowledge of 
all that passed. Neither Captain King, nor Captain 
Burney, each of whom has described the transactions, 
was on shore with Cook. Nor indeed, as hinted 
above, can it be inferred with certainty from anything 
Ledyard says, that he was in that part of the fray. 



116 Life of john ledyard. 

But the confidence and particularity with which he 
speaks would seem to indicate actual observation. 
We have Captain Burney's testimony, moreover, 
which may be deemed conclusive. He says, that 
" Cook landed with Lieutenant Molesworth Phillips of 
the marines, Sergeant Gibson, Corporals Thomas and 
Ledyard, and six private marines, being in the whole 
elev^en persons."* It follows, that Ledyard must have 
been near Cook from the time he left the ship till he 
was killed, and that he heard and saw distinctly all 
that happened. Four marines were killed, three 
wounded, and three escaped unhurt, of which last 
number he was one. 

After this melancholy catastrophe, the ships re- 
mained six days in the harbor, till the defective mast 
was repaired, and a supply of water obtained. This 
latter was effected with difficulty, however, as the 
watering parties were repeatedly assailed by the na- 
tives, and skirmishes ensued. It may well be imagined, 
therefore, that the hour of departure was hailed with 
joy by all on board. They passed ten days more among 
the islands, and, the water on board being bad, a fresh 
supply v^^as procured at the island of Atui. The season 
being now advanced, and everything in readiness, they 
launched out again into the great ocean, pursuing a 
northerly course, with the design of making a second 
attempt to explore the polar regions, in search of a 
northwest passage. In six weeks they approached the 
shore of Kamtschatka, and anchored in the harbor of 
St Peter and St Paul. The result of the expedition is 
well known. They passed through Bering's Strait, and 

* Chronological History of Northeastern Voyages of Discovery 
p. 260. 



LIFE OF JOHN I,ED¥ARB. 117 

groped among islands of ice in a high latitude, but with 
no better success, than the year before. They touched 
again at Kamtschatka on their return, and, proceeding 
by the way of China and the Cape of Good Hope, 
they reached England, after an absence of four years 
and three months. 

Many facts and speculations in our traveller's jour- 
nal, not a little curious in themselves, have been 
omitted in the preceding sketch, because they would 
occupy a space not consistent with the nature or limits 
of the present memoir. I am tempted, however, in 
this connexion to quote his remarks on the mode in 
which the South Sea Islands were probably first peo- 
pled. The subject has since been much discussed by 
philosophers and geographers, but no one before him 
had examined it with views so much enlarged by ex- 
perience and observation ; and it is believed he was the 
first to advance the opinion, that the inhabitants of 
those islands, scattered as they are through an ocean 
of vast extent, " were derived from one common ori- 
gin." Of this he will not allow that there is any room 
for doubt, and the only question is, whether they came 
from Asia "or America. Whichever way this question 
may be answered, there will remain objections not 
easy to be removed, if we attempt to find out a re- 
semblance in every peculiarity of character and man- 
ners, or to explain obvious diiferences. He does not 
pretend to solve the problem, but only to throw out 
such hints illustrative of the subject as occurred to 
him, and as tend to establish the possibility, that an 
emigration from either of the continents might have 
reached to all the islands, without any other means of 



110 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARB. 

transportation, than such as the people themselves 
possessed. 

" The New Zealanders say theh' ancestors came 
from an island called Havvyjee ; now Owyhee, as we 
carelessly pronounce it, is pronounced by its inhabi- 
tants Hawyhee. This is a curious circumstance, and 
admits of a presumption, that the island of Owyhee, or 
Hawyhee, is the island from which the New Zealand- 
ers originally emigrated. It supersedes analogical 
evidence. But Owyhee is in twenty north, and New^ 
Zealand is in forty south, and not above three 
hundred leagues distant from the southern parts of 
New Holland, and is besides situated in the latitudes 
of variable winds, which admit of emigrations from 
any quarter. On the other hand, the languages of 
Owyhee and New Zealand were originally the same, 
and as much alike as that of Otaheite and New Zea- 
land ; not to mention other circumstances of the like 
kind. Whereas the languages at New Zealand and 
New Holland have very little or no resemblance to 
each other. This difference, with many others, be- 
tween New Zealand and New Holland, cannot be 
reconciled; but the difficulties that may arise from 
considering the distance between New Zealand and 
Owyhee may be, as there are clusters of islands that 
we know of, and there may be others unknown, that 
occupy, at no great distance from each other, the inter- 
mediate ocean from Owyhee to New Zealand. The 
obvious reasonings, that would be used to conclude the 
New Zealanders emigrants from Owyhee, would be, 
first, to suppose them from the Friendly Isles, then the 
Society Isles, and then the Sandwich Isles ; and the 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 119 

gradation thus formed is very rational and argumenta- 
tive, because all their manners and customs have the 
same cast. Suppose, then, that the islands we have 
mentioned were peopled from Owyhee, and suppose it 
to be the first island settled, the second arid ultimate 
question is. From which of the continents, America or 
Asia ? Its situation respecting America, and the trade 
winds, strongly intimate from that continent, for it is 
twice the distance from Asia that it is from America ; 
and a ship, fitted for the purpose at China, which is in 
a paralled latitude, would be more than two months in 
reaching it, and we must suppose the emigrations that 
respect these people to have been merely fortuitous ; 
but a canoe, driven by stress of weather from the 
southern part of California, or the coast of New Gali- 
cia, the opposite parallel, would reach Owyhee in a 
direct course in half the time or less. The distance 
is about nine hundred leagues, and we saw people at 
the island Watteeoo, who had been driven from Ota- 
heite there, which is five hundred leagues. 

" But if we suppose Owyhee peopled from South 
America, we shall be somewhat disappointed in sup- 
porting the conjecture by arguments, that respect their 
manners and customs, and those of the Californians, 
Mexicans, Peruvians, or Chilians. There is but a 
faint analogy, compared with that which we should 
find on the southeastern coasts of Asia in these 
respects. Let us then, without attending to the few 
analogical customs, that subsist between the Owyhee- 
ans and the South Americans, reverse our system of 
emigration. Suppose the inhabitants of the Sandwich 
Islands to have come from the Society Islands, and 



120 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYAKD. 

those from the Friendly Isles, and the New Zealan- 
ders from them ; the inhabitants of the Friendly Isles 
from New Caledonia, from the New Hebrides, New 
Guinea, Celebes, Borneo, Java, or Sumatra, and finally 
from the continent at Malacca. Supposing the emi- 
gration we are now speaking of to have taken this 
course, the most apparent argument in its favor is, the 
proximity of the several islands to each other, from (he 
Friendly Isles to the continent ; but its sufliciency 
will abate, if we consider emigrations, as I think they 
are, oftener the effects of accident than previous inten- 
tion ; especially when out of sight of land. Besides, 
it is evident from ocular proof, that, though New 
Guinea and New Holland are very near to each other, 
there has never been any intercourse between them ; 
and yet, from many appearances, there seems to have 
been one between New Guinea, the New Hebrides, 
and the Friendly Isles, although farther distant from 
each other. There is indeed no remarkable similarit}^ 
in the people, customs, and manners of New Guinea 
and the Friendly Isles, but an exact conformity be- 
tween the domestic animals and vegetable productions 
of both countries. Some fruits, that we call tropical, 
are peculiar to all places within the tropics ; but 
bread-fruit is nowhere known, but among these islands 
and the islands further northward on the coast of 
Asia. It is not known at New Holland, but it is 
at New Guinea. Therefore, wherever I can find this 
bread-fruit in particular, I shall suppose an intercourse 
to have once subsisted, and the more so, when I find a 
correspondent agreement between the animals of dif- 
ferent places ; and it ought to be remembered also. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 121 

that there are no other animals throughout those 
islands, unless they are near the continent ; those 
remote islands have no other. It is the same with 
their vegetables. The remote islands have no water- 
melons, guavas, and such other fruits. 

" These observations will essentially apply to the 
circumstances of emigration. A canoe, in passing 
along its own coast, or visiting a neighboring island, 
would take on board a hog, a dog, a fowl, and bread- 
fruit for subsistence, in preference to a monkey, a 
snake, or a guava ; and if the canoe is driven acci- 
dentally on some foreign island, they turn to greater 
advantage." 

Since these remarks were written, there have been 
many opportunities for further discovery, but very 
little has been added to the stock of knowledge on 
the subject. The missionaries, during a residence of 
thirty years in the Society Islands, have found nothing 
among the traditions or customs of the people, from 
which their origin can be deduced. It was supposed 
for a time, that the languages of the islanders in the 
Pacific Ocean would afford a clue, that might lead to 
a solution of the difficulty ; but hitherto all inquiries 
in this quarter have failed, and contributed rather to 
confirm than diminish the uncertainty, which existed at 
first. It is proved, that in all the islands, constituting 
that portion of the globe denominated in recent 
geography Polynesia, a multitude of dialects prevail, 
which have so near an affinity to each other, as to 
make it demonstratively certain, that they all sprang 
from the same stock. It is moreover remarkable, 
that none of these dialects, which has as yet been ex- 
16 



122 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

amined, bears any analogy to other known languages, 
except those in use among the natives of these 
islands. It is true, that in the Friendly Islands, New 
Zealand, and some others bordering on the Asiatic 
islands, a few Malayan w^ords are intermixed with the 
Polynesian, but so sparingly as to make a very small 
part only of the whole, and with characteristics 
plainly indicating their foreign origin. If we may 
judge from the grammars prepared by the missiona- 
ries, as well as from their own declarations, very few 
languages are more widely different in their principles, 
structure, and vocabulary, than the Malayan and Poly- 
nesian. No argument, therefore, drawn from the 
analogy of languages, any more than from striking 
traits of character in the people, can be urged to 
prove the Polynesians to have come originally from 
the islands on the south of Asia. 

The same may be said in regard to northern Asia, and 
South America. No resemblances in language have 
been discovered, and very slight ones only in prevail- 
ing customs ; and these, after all, may be accidental. 
Malte-Brun is opposed to the theory of an emigration 
from South America, on the ground, that the islands 
nearest the coast are not inhabited. But this reason 
has very little weight. In the first place, these islands 
are small, and would thus be the less likely to be met 
by canoes, floating at random over the ocean, which 
was undoubtedly the condition of the first emigrants ; 
and in the next place, they are sterile, and might not 
have afforded subsistence to people landing on them. 
Again, these islands are not in clusters, but scattered 
remotely from each other, and many casualties may 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 123 

be imagined by which settlers on them might have 
been cut off, even if accident had thrown them there. 
In short, little can be said, as to the mode of the 
first peopling of the Polynesian islands, with any 
approach to certainty. The study of the language, 
which the missionaries are now prosecuting, will open 
a new channel of investigation, from which some 
favorable results may be hoped. Nothing will proba- 
bly put the question beyond controversy, but the dis- 
covery of a language among some of the tribes of 
Asia, or America, which bears a close resemblance to 
the Polynesian. As no written memorials of the lan- 
guages of these tribes remain, if it should have hap- 
pened, that the nation from which the islanders 
descended has become extinct, together with its lan- 
guage, which is most likely to be the case, the prob- 
lem must go down to future ages, a theme only for 
ingenious conjecture and speculation. When the pre- 
valence of the trade wind is considered, always setting 
towards the west, the probability of a migration from 
America is much stronger, than of one from Asia. 
Ledyard considers the emigration to have been compar- 
atively recent, because the islands are volcanic, having 
been formed by violent eruptions from the earth ; and 
many centuries must have elapsed after such an event, 
before they could be habitable. 

The journal, which has now passed under our 
notice, can in no respect be regarded as a complete 
narrative of Cook's Third Voyage. It was written, 
as heretofore stated, under many disadvantages, in 
haste, and without the aid of the author's original 
notes ; and to all appearance the manuscript was 
printed without his correction and supervision. The 



124 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

part prepared by himself breaks off, indeed, more than 
a year before the end of the voyage, and was proba- 
bly filled out by the publisher from the brief account 
before printed in England. Ledyard's descriptions 
agree in the main, however, with those contained in 
the large work, which afterwards appeared under the 
authority of the Admiralty. Occasional differences 
will of course naturally be expected, when we take 
into view the different circumstances under which the 
commanding officer, and a corporal of marines, would 
observe the objects and events they described. The 
latter was often in situations to witness and contem- 
plate occurrences, which could not com6 to the 
knowledge of the former, and which, to a mind acute 
and observing like his, would make impressions 
worthy to be recorded. Nor is it any disparagement 
of the other writers to say, that several of Ledyard's 
descriptions of the manners and peculiarities of the 
natives are written with a vivacity, descrimination, 
and force, which they have not equalled. He utters 
his own sentiments with a boldness, and expresses 
himself with a confidence, that convince us of his 
sincerity, honest zeal, and mental vigor, even when 
we cannot assent to his opinions. He sometimes cen- 
sures his superiors in office with a freedom not alto- 
gether commendable, and imagines them to have been 
actuated by motives, which could scarcely exist. This 
may be perceived in the tone, which pervades some 
of the extracts quoted above. His station was not 
one, in which he could be acquainted with the views 
and plans of the commander, and yet his inquisitive 
temper, and high sense of his dignity as a man, prompt- 
ed him to think for himself, and put much reliance in 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 125 

the conclusions of his own mind. When these were 
thwarted, as they often would be, it ,was natural that 
he should suppose his superiors in an error, especially 
if ill consequences resulted from their measures. 

He was accustomed to speak with high respect of 
Captain Cook, although he thought his proceedings 
towards the natives sometimes rash, and even unjusti- 
fiable. But this was no more than has been thought 
by many others. Nobodyhas ever doubted the purity 
of Cook's intentions, or his humanity, but he adopted 
a system of conduct towards the savages, especially 
in punishing slight offences, the policy and good effects 
of which were less obvious to others than to himself. 
Pilfering was so universal in all the South Sea islands, 
that it was hardly recognised in the moral code of the 
natives as an offence, much less a crime ; yet he inva- 
riably punished transgressions of this kind with severi- 
ty. A long course of experience had confirmed the 
navigator in this system, and he practised it usually 
with success. We have seen how he applied it in the 
case of Feenou, who stole the peacocks at Tongata- 
boo, and many similar instances might be cited. It 
was his rigid adherence to this course, in fact, which 
at last caused his death ; for he landed at Kiverua with 
the express purpose of enticing the old king on board, 
that he might retain him there as a hostage, till the 
stolen boat should be given up. The opinions of 
Ledyard on this head, therefore, though sometimes 
expressed with earnestness, argue no disrespect or 
want of esteem for the commander, whom he honored 
for the high station to which his merits had raised 
him, and whom he admired for his many great and 
good qualities. 



126 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Ledyard returns to America. — Interview with his mother after an absence of 
eight years. — Passes the winter in Hartford, and writes his Jom-nal of Cook's 
Voyage. — Visits New York and Philadelphia to concert with the merchants a 
plan of a commercial expedition. — Robert Morris agrees to engage in a trading 
voyage, under his direction, to the Northwest Coast. — Proceeds to Boston, 
and afterwards to New London and New York, to procure a vessel for the 
purpose. — Failure of the enterprise, after a year had been spent in fruitless 
attempts to carry it into effect. — Letters to his mother. — Makes a trial in New 
London to enlist the merchants of that place in his scheme. — Was the first 
to propose a voyage for a mercantile adventure to the Northwest Coast. — Sails 
for Cadiz. — Letters from that city containing political remarks. — Sails for 
L'Orient. — Makes an agreement with a company of merchants there to aid 
him in such a voyage as he had proposed in America. — After eight months' 
preparation it is given up. — Goes to Paris. 

During the two years succeeding our traveller's 
arrival in England from Cook's last expedition, lie 
continued in the navy, but what rank he held, or on 
what stations he served, cannot now be ascertained. 
It is only known, that he refused to be attached to 
any of the squadrons, which came out to America, 
giving as a reason, that he would not appear in arms 
against his native country. Growing weary, however, 
of a mode of life little suited to his disposition, unless 
on some adventurous enterprise, like that from which 
he had lately returned, his thoughts began to wander 
homeward, and to dwell on the scenes of his youthful 
days. Apparently conquering the scruples, which he 
had hitherto urged as the motives of his reluctance, 
he sought the first opportunity to be transferred to the 
American station, and in December, 1782, we find 
him on board a British man-of-war in Huntington 
Bay, Long Island Sound. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 127 

It was natural that his first impulse should be to 
visit his mother, who lived at Southold. Ostensibly 
for this purpose he obtained permission of seven days' 
absence from the ship, but evidently intending to 
return no more. Long Island was then in the posses- 
sion of the British. He remained but a short time 
among his old acquaintances at Huntington, where, it 
will be recollected, in his theological tour ten years 
before, he had " feasted twelve days on Mr Prime's 
great library." From this place he hastened to South- 
old, and the first interview with his mother is repre- 
sented as affecting. She kept a boarding-house, 
which was at that time occupied chiefly by British 
officers. He rode up to the door, alighted, went 
in, and asked if he could be accommodated in her 
house as a lodger. She replied that he could, and 
showed him a room into which his baggage was con- 
veyed. After having adjusted his dress, he came out 
and took a seat by the fire, in company with seve- 
ral other officers, without making himself known to 
his mother, or entering into conversation with any 
person. She frequently passed and repassed through 
the room, and her eye was observed to be attracted 
towards him with more than usual attention. He still 
remained silent. At last, after looking at him steadi- 
ly for some minutes, she deliberately put on her spec- 
tacles, approached nearer to him, begging his pardon 
for her rudeness, and telling him, that he so much re- 
sembled a son of hers, who had been absent eight 
years, that she could not resist her inclination to view 
him more closely. The scene that followed may be 
imagined, but not described ; for Ledyard had a tender 



128 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

heart, and affection for his mother was among its 
deepest and most constant emotions. 

As he had already resolved to quit the British ser- 
vice, being persuaded that no principles of justice or 
honor could make it his duty to act with the enemies 
of his country, he thought it prudent, before the seven 
days had expired, to leave his mother's house, and go 
over to the continent. The recollections of his child- 
hood detained him a short time at New London and 
Groton, and he then proceeded to Hartford, where, 
after a ten years' wandering in the remotest corners 
of the globe, he received the cordial greetings of 
his early friends, and found a kind home under 
the roof of his uncle and former guardian. His feel- 
ings on this occasion will be understood from his 
remarks in a letter, written shortly after he reached 
Hartford. " You will be surprised to hear of my 
being at Hartford ; I am surprised myself. I made 
my escape from the British at Huntington Bay. I am 
now at Mr Seymour's, and as happy as need be. I 
have a little cash, two coats, three waistcoasts, six 
pair of stockings, and half a dozen ruffled shirts. 
I am a violent whig and a violent tory. Many are my 
acquaintances. I eat and drink when I am asked, and 
visit when I am invited ; in short, I generally do as I 
am bid. All I want of my friends is friendship ; pos- 
sessed of that, I am happy." In writing to other per- 
sons he expresses similar satisfaction, and although, 
in alluding to the toils and sufferings he had under- 
gone, he declares himself to have been worn down by 
them to such a degree, as to make his person so 
" perfect a contrast to beauty or elegance, that 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 129 

Hogarth himself could not deform it ; " yet he writes 
with a gaiety and playfulness, which show the sorrows 
of the past to have been forgotten in the felicity of 
the present, and that no gloomy anticipations of the 
future were allowed to mingle their alloy. 

In Hartford he remained four months, that is, from 
the first of January till about the first of May, in 
which period he wrote the Journal of Cook's Voyage. 
In this occupation, and in visiting his friends, he 
passed the winter. His restless spirit could be tran- 
quil no longer. He had great projects in view, which 
he was impatient to see executed. New adventures 
courted his fancy, and flattering hopes as usual pressed 
him forward with an ardent, determined, and ceaseless 
zeal. Bidding adieu to his friends in Hartford, he 
repaired to New York, where he unfolded his plans to 
such persons, as he thought might be induced to pa- 
tronize them ; but not meeting with encouragement 
adequate to his sanguine expectations, he hastened 
onward to Philadelphia. He had but just arrived in 
that city, when he described his condition to his 
cousin, Dr Isaac Ledyard, in a manner so characteris- 
tic, that no apology will be necessary for quoting the 
letter in full. 

*' The day after I parted with you, I took the Bor- 
denton route, and the next morning landed at the 
Crooked Billet, where I breakfasted, and sallied out to 
view the nakedness of things here. I first went to 
McClanagan ; he had no navigation ; next to two other 
houses, but to no purpose. I then went among the 
shipping, and examined them pretty thoroughly. I 
doubt that I should even be put to it to get to sea be- 
17 



130 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

fore the mast. The most of the shipping here are 
foreigners. Sixteen sail of seven different maritime 
powers arrived a few days ago. Fourteen sailors 
went out to the northward the morning I arrived, for 
want of employ, and numbers are strolling the docks 
on the same account. There is at present little home 
navigation. 

" After a walk of about four hours I returned to 
my quarters, asked for a room to change my dress, 
and went up and counted my cash ; turned it over 
and looked at it ; shook it in my hand ; recounted it, 
and found two French crowns, half a crown, one 
fourth of a dollar, one eighth of a dollar, and just 
twelve coppers. Shall I visit H's ? I looked at my 
stockings ; they will do ; — my shoes — if I look that 
way, my two crowns and I shall part. We did part, — • 
I put my new pumps on, washed, shaved, and went to 
H's, where I had determined not to go. Mr H. is 
now waiting for his horse ; he is going to Princeton. 
This will go by him. I am at a loss whether to say 
anything about money here, or depend upon this letter 
meeting you at Princeton, wait the return of Mr H., 
the chance he has of seeing you, or — I don't know 
what to do. — 1 am determined. Send me either by 
Mr H. or the first conveyance — some cash. Adieu." 

In this state of embarrassment he continued for 
several days, seeking employment without success, 
mortified at the defeat of all his purposes, and cha- 
grined that his schemes should be so coldly received 
by those, whom he had fondly hoped would under- 
stand and promote them. By another letter, however, 
written two or three weeks after the above, it would 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 131 

appear, that a gleam of light was breaking in upon 
him, and that his perseverance had not been wholl} 
fruitless. He writes again to his cousin ; 

" It is uncertain by what medium of conveyance 
this may reach you. I design it for the Amboy House, 
and thence to Middletown. A duplicate will be 
directed to Princeton. It is abundantly manifest, that 
this argues anxiety, and of so intense a kind too, as 
to prompt a wish for the possibility of the annihilation 
of time and distance. I have been so often the sport 
of fortune, that I durst hardly credit the present dawn 
of bright prospects. But it is a fact, that the Honora- 
ble Robert Morris is disposed to give me a ship to go 
to the North Pacific Ocean. I have had two inter- 
views with him at the Finance Office, and tomorrow 
I expect a conclusive one. What a noble hold he in- 
stantly took of the enterprise ! I have been two 
days, at his request, drawing up a minute detail of a 
plan, and an estimate of the outfits, which I shall 
present him with tomorrow ; and I am pleased to find, 
that it will be two thousand pounds less than one of 
his own. I take the lead of the greatest commercial 
enterprise, that has ever been embarked on in this 
country ; and one of the first moment, as it respects 
the trade of America. If the affair is concluded on, 
as I expect it will be, it is probable I shall set off for 
New England to procure seamen, or a ship, or both. 
Morris is wrapt up in the idea of Yankee sailors, 

" Necessity has overcome my delicacy. I have 
unbosomed myself to H. and laid my poverty open to 
him. He has relieved me for the present, which I 
have told him to draw on you for. Send me some 



132 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

money, for Heaven's sake, lest the laurel, now sus- 
pended over the brows of your friend, should fall irre- 
coverably into the dust. Adieu." 

The enterprise to which he alludes in this letter, as 
having been concerted with Mr Morris, and which had 
occupied his thoughts ever since his return from Cook's 
expedition, was a trading voyage to the Northwest 
Coast. At this time no such mercantile adventure 
had been attempted, either in this country or Europe, 
nor is it known that anything of the kind had even 
been contemplated. Ledyard's knowledge of the 
resources of the Northwest Coast in furs, derived from 
his observations while there, particularly at Nootka 
Sound and the Russian establishment on the island of 
Onalaska, together with the enormous advances, which 
he had seen paid in Canton on the original cost of this 
article, had convinced him that great profits might 
be realized by a voyage, fitted out expressly for this 
trade. Hitherto no market had been opened to the 
natives, by which they could dispose of the supera- 
bundance of their furs, or receive such articles in 
exchange, as might suit their fancy or convenience ; 
hence the furs could be purchased extremely low, and 
paid for in commodities of little intrinsic value, and at 
such prices as the vendor might choose to affix. It 
was clear, therefore, in his mind, that they, who 
should first engage in this trade, would reap immense 
profits by their earliest efibrts, and at the same time 
gain such knowledge and experience, as would enable 
them to pursue it for years with advantages superior 
to any, that could be commanded by the competitors, 
who might be drawn into the same channel of com- 
merce. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 133 

So Strong had grown his confidence in the accuracy 
of his opinions, by long reflection on the subject, and 
such was the eagerness of his desire to prove the 
truth of his theory by actual experiment, that he ap- 
plied the whole energy of his mind and character to 
the task of creating an interest in his project among 
the merchants, who had the means of carrying it into 
effect, and without whose patronage nothing could be 
done. In New York he was unsuccessful ; his scheme 
was called wild and visionary, and set down as bear- 
ing the marks rather of a warm imagination, and 
sanguine temperament, than of a sober and mature 
judgment. No merchant was found willing to hazard 
his money, or his reputation, in an adventure so novel 
in its kind, and so questionable in its promise, a 
scheme not only untried, but never before thought of. 
His first inquiries in Philadelphia met with no better 
favor, till Mr Robert Morris, with an enlargement of 
mind and purpose, which characterized his undertak- 
ings, entered into his views, and made arrangements 
to furnish the outfits of a voyage, according to !he 
plan he drew up. 

The first thing to be done was to procure a ship 
suitable for such a voyage. At that time there was 
none unemployed in Philadelphia, and Ledyard was 
despatched to Boston, where it was thought a pur- 
chase might speedily be effected, and where progress 
was actually made in the preparation of a vessel 
for this purpose ; but for some cause not now known 
it was taken for a voyage of a different kind. He 
next proceeded to New London, where the Con- 
tinental frigate, Trumbull, was engaged for the voy- 



134 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

age, but this ship was afterwards diverted to another 
adventure, suggested by this plan. The Count d'Ar- 
tois, a large French ship then lying in the harbor of 
New London was next thought of, but was finally 
otherwise destined. Again, a ship in New York, of 
about three hundred tons, was provided ; but on 
examination it proved to be so old and defective, 
that it was condemned as unsafe for a voyage of such 
length and hazard. The season was by this time too 
far advanced to think of prosecuting the voyage before 
the next spring. Meantime Mr Daniel Parker was 
employed to purchase a ship in New York, and to 
have it in readiness as soon as the favorable season for 
its sailing should arrive. A ship was procured accord- 
ingly, but the outfits were delayed from time to time, 
till the winter passed by, and then the spring, and at 
last it was sent on an adventure to Canton. Thus a 
year was spent, in a vexatious and fruitless struggle 
to overcome difficulties, which thickened as he ad- 
vanced, till his patience, and that of Mr Morris also, 
would seem to have been exhausted, for the voyage 
was altogether abandoned. 

While he w^as in New London negotiating for the 
ship Trumbull, after his return from Boston, he wrote 
a letter to his mother, from which an extract here 
follows. 

" This is the first opportunity in reality, which I 
have had of writing to you, since I have been in this 
country. My ambition to do everything, which my 
disposition as a man, and my relative character as a 
citizen, and more tenderly as the leading descendant 
of a broken and distressed family, should prompt me 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 135 

to do, has engaged me in every kind of speculation, 
which afforded the least probability of advancing my 
interest, my happiness, or the happiness of my friends. 
These different engagements have led me into different 
conditions ; sometimes I have been elated with hope, 
sometimes depressed with disappointment and distress. 
I postponed informing yoo of my circumstances, in- 
dulging the constant hope of their soon being better, 
until which time I was determined you should not 
know anything particularly concerning me. If that 
time is now arrived, it has been more from the influ- 
ence of a kind Providence, than my own merits. My 
prospects at present are a voyage to the East Indies, 
and eventually round the world. It will be of two or 
three years' duration. If I am successful, I shall not 
have occasion to absent myself any more from my 
friends ; but above all, I hope to have it in my power 
to minister to the wants of a beloved parent, and 
others who languish and fade in obscurity. My dear 
sisters engage my tenderest love, and solicitude for 
their future welfare. My best wish is, that they may 
be educated and disposed of suitably to the beauty of 
their persons, and their excellent hearts, and that I 
could be instrumental in conferring such a kindness. 
I beg my brotherly salutations to them. Tell them I 
long to strew roses in their laps, and branches of palm 
beneath their feet." 

It ought to be recorded in this place, that while 
Ledyard was in New York, anxiously waiting for a 
vessel, his embarrassments, occasioned by the want of 
money, were often relieved, in a spirit of great kind- 
ness, by Mr Comfort Sands. This gentleman became 



136 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

acquainted with him in Philadelphia, and early ap- 
proved and promoted the enterprise, which he had in 
contemplation ; he proposed sending an adventure by 
the same voyage, and during the whole preparation 
rendered him essential services, for which it is believ- 
ed he never received any other returns, than such as 
always attend the consciousness of benevolent acts, 
and of having aided the advancement of large and 
useful designs. 

Not discouraged .by the ill fortune, which he had so 
signally experienced, Ledyard resolved not to relin- 
quish his purpose, till he had made other trials to carry 
it forward. He repaired to New London, and sug- 
gested the same adventure to persons of commercial 
pursuits in that port. He was particularly strenuous 
in persuading Captain Deshon, who owned a fine new 
ship then lying in the harbor, and well constructed for 
such a voyage, to embark with him in a trading 
expedition to the Northwest Coast. Captain Deshon 
was the nephew of the commander of the vessel, in 
which Ledyard sailed to Gibraltar, and although at 
that time a youth, he was himself on board in the 
service of his uncle. A friendship had ever afterwards 
subsisted between the two voyagers, and Captain 
Deshon was now willing to join with his friend in any 
mercantile adventure, wiiich should seem to him prac- 
ticable, safe, and affording a reasonable prospect of 
gain. But Ledyard drew so glowing a picture of the 
advantages to be derived from his projected voyage, 
the trifling value of the articles necessary for an out- 
w^ard cargo, and the immense advances that would be 
received on the price of the articles purchased ; in 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 137 

short, his enthusiasm gave so bright a coloring to his 
representations, and such amplitude to his hopes, that 
Captain Deshon could not so far resist the dictates of 
prudence, as to participate in feelings and views, 
which he deemed little short of romantic, and as 
more strongly tinged with the native warmth of his 
character, than with that trait of mind, which weighs 
and deliberates cautiously before it resolves. It is 
needless to add, that, under these impressions, he 
could not prevail on himself to second his friend's 
wishes ; yet he was afterwards heard to say, that 
Ledyard's account, in its minutest details, was verified 
by the first voyages of that kind from the United 
States, and that he had often regretted his not hav- 
ing listened to him, and prosecuted the voyage in 
compliance with his solicitation. As far as can be 
ascertained, Ledyard's views of the subject, both as 
unfolded in the transactions with Mr Morris and with 
Captain Deshon, accorded exactly with those acted 
upon by the first adventurers, who were rewarded 
with extraordinary success. It was a part of his plan 
to purchase lands of the natives, and establish a fac- 
tory, or colony, for the purpose of a continued inter- 
course and trade. 

Weary of making fruitless applications in his own 
country, Ledyard determined to embark for Europe, 
where he might expect better patronage from larger 
capitalists, and in a wider field of commercial activity. 
Mr Morris had made him some compensation for the 
time he had spent in his service, and favored him 
with several letters of recommendation to eminent 
merchants abroad, particularly in France. He took 
18 



138 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

passage in a vessel from New London, bound to Ca- 
diz. On the first of June, 1784, he wrote as follows 
to his mother. 

" Since I saw you last, I have passed through a 
great many difficulties and disappointments, which 
my most intimate friends are, and must be for the 
present, at least, unacquainted with, as it will answer 
no good purpose to break their repose, or add to my 
cares, by reflecting on what is past, and thence antici- 
pating evil. You have no doubt heard of my very 
great disappointment at New York. For a moment, 
all the fortitude, that ten years' misfortune had taught 
me, could hardly support me. I am now very well 
in health. This will probably be the last letter I shall 
write you from this country. I shall sail within 
twelve days for Spain, whence I expect to go to 
France, and there again to renew the business I was 
so unfortunate in at New York. If I succeed in my 
wishes, it may be two or three years before I return. 
In this interim, I pray you to give me your blessing 
and your prayers. My sisters I hope are well, and 
beg them to accept a brother's love. Please to pre- 
sent my kind love to my brothers. May that Being, 
who is infinitely great and infinitely good, be the 
friend of them, and of us all." 

He sailed for Spain, as here intimated, shortly after 
writing this letter, having been the first, whether in 
America or Europe, to suggest a scheme of trade with 
the Northwest Coast, which has since proved to be a 
very lucrative field of commerce to merchants in 
both hemispheres. It was more than a year after his 
earliest application to the merchants in New York, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 139 

before any expedition of the kind was fitted out from 
Europe. The first voyage from the United States to 
the Northwest Coast was in the ship Columbia, of 
three hundred tons, which sailed from Boston under 
the command of Captain John Kendrick, about thrcB 
years after Ledyard's visit to that place, in search of 
a ship for Mr Morris. He may justly be considered, 
therefore, the first projector of this branch of com- 
merce. Captain Kendrick so far adopted his ulterior 
purpose, as to purchase lands of the natives, with 
a view of founding a colony there, wdien a proper 
occasion should offer. To this end he took formal 
deeds of the land, confirmed by the signs manual of 
the chiefs, who claimed the territory.* To some of 
his friends, Ledyard mentioned his intention of leaving 
the ship on the coast, when the cargo should be 
obtained, and exploring the country over land from 
Nootka Sound, or some point farther north, across to 
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, thus traversing the 
whole space between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. 
Meantime the vessel was to proceed to China, and 
thence to return and meet him in New York, ready 
for another voyage. 

But all the fine prospects, which he had dwelt upon 
in anticipation, are to be given up for the present, and 
we must follow him to Europe. The passage to 
Cadiz was favorable and expeditious. He does not 
seem to have had any special design in visiting Cadiz, 



* The original deeds are now in the office of the Secretary of State 
in Washington. In company with the Columbia was the Washington, 
a vessel of one hundred tons' burden, commanded by Captain Robert 
Grey. 



140 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

in reference to the main object of his crossing the 
Atlantic. This destination probably awaited him, in 
consequence of an opportunity presenting itself of a 
more direct passage to that port, than to any other 
in the south of Europe. L'Orient was the city, 
which he intended to visit, and in which he had been 
encouraged to look for patrons of his projected enter- 
prise. He had been furnished with letters to weal- 
thy and enterprising merchants there, and he made all 
haste to be on the spot. Various causes of delay kept 
him in Cadiz more than a month. This time he filled 
up as well as he could, in gaining information of the 
place, of its resources and trade, and of the manners 
and character of the people. He also endeavored to 
drive away the melancholy thoughts, incident to the 
anxiety of his situation, by mingling in social circles, 
and contriving to be entertained by the public amuse- 
ments, that were much frequented by all ranks of 
people. On the sixteenth of August he wrote thus 
Cadiz to Dr Ledyard. 

" Just as I was seated, and had dated my letter, 
the carriage of General O'Reilly hove in view, a 
clumsy, gothic vehicle, dragged by five jaded mules to 
the bull-fight. Who is General O'Reilly ? A poor, 
migrating, Irish cadet ; a soldier that was scalded at 
the storm of Gibraltar. O'Reilly is to Cadiz, and all 
wdthin his jurisdiction, which consists of two provin- 
ces, what Czar Peter was to Russia. The reform he 
has made in the minutest parts of his government, as 
well as the most important, is looked upon as a phe- 
nomenon in this country. He has, with a boldness 
that characterizes an enterprising commander and 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 141 

legislator, even struck at those old habits among a 
people, so dangerous to be meddled with. Envy is 
the natural concomitant of such merit, and O'Reilly 
has probably greater friends and enemies at the court 
of Madrid, than any other character in the kingdom ; 
and both parties had a fair opportunity of contesting 
their ascendency, after the miscarriage of the late 
descent against the Moors ; but his conquering his 
court enemies at home fully compensated that misfor- 
tune abroad, and confirmed his fame, nay, added to its 
lustre.* To execute all these great matters, O'Reilly 
is not the man you would suppose. His education is 
contracted ; he is capricious, severe, and arrogant ; 
ordinary in his person, and forbidding in his address. 

" The exhibition of the bull-fights is in a spacious 
amphitheatre, that will accommodate twelve thousand 
spectators. The horsemen display more skill and 
courage, than the footmen. But it is a barbarous 
amusement. There are many Irish inhabitants here, 
all of whom are particularly friendly to Americans. 
I am now writing at the house of Mr Harrison, hand- 
somely situated on the side of the Alameda. I take a 
family dinner with him to-day, having already taken 



* This alludes to an attack by the Spaniards on Algiers in the year 
1775. A formidable armament of six ships of the line, twelve frigates, 
a large number of smaller vessels, and twentyfive thousand men, all 
under the command of the Conde de O'Reilly, formed that expedi- 
tion. A large part of the army was landed, and a partial battle ensued, 
in which the Spaniards met Vv'ith a signal and most disgraceful defeat. 
Severe censures were passed on O'Reilly, and a general spirit of indig- 
nation existed against him throughout Spain, but the weight of his 
talents, and his influence at court, enabled him to triumph over his 
enemies, and to sustain himself in the highest stations. 



142 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

a formal one. The British consul also receives me 
with great politeness. Bat what I am doing among 
these gentry, with only half a dollar and four reals in 
my pocket, you must, with me, wait for time to de- 
velope. I shall soon leave this place for France, and 
my route will be either up the Mediterranean to Mar- 
seilles, and thence on the grand canal west to Bour- 
deaux ; or along the coast of Spain and Portugal by 
sea. I yesterday conversed with an Englishman, who 
is commissioned to treat privately with our States in 
behalf of the Emperor of Morocco ; but if I can per- 
suade him to send his Arabic commission back, and 
join me with his cash and importance at Bordeaux, or 
Nantz — . The preliminary step is accomplished, and 
he is now somewhere in the town as busy in the 
affair, as a dozen such heads as mine could be." 

Since no more is heard of this commissioner from 
the Emperor of Morocco, it is presumed the prelimi- 
nary step was the only one taken in the. business. 
Ledyard remained in Cadiz, apparently waiting for a 
passage either to Marseilles, or to some port in the 
west of France, as chance might offer. He wrote to 
his friends, communicating his observations on what 
passed around him, but said little of his own circum- 
stances or prospects. The remarks now about to be 
quoted, are contained in a letter written to his corres- 
pondent in America, after he had been two weeks at 
Cadiz, and are not more curious for their singularity, 
than for the historical hints they convey, in regard to 
the state of knowledge and feeling, which then pre- 
vailed in the south of Europe, respecting the United 
States. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 143 

'' The people in this, as in other parts of Europe, 
are more systematic than you [Americans] are in 
everything. Here the routine of life, however varied, 
is still uniform, whether composed of virtue or 
vice, wisdom or folly. Before dinner, the merchant, 
mechanic, and ordinary laborer, are assiduously intent 
on their different employments. After dinner, they 
as regularly devote themselves to their several gratifi- 
cations, which consist either of conversation or sleep. 
The opulent and polite adopt the first. At a polite 
table, therefore, you hear the very best things they 
are capable of saying. Here, then, I am told you err in 
your politics ; I mean that kind of policy, which your 
independence has given birth to. The general disap- 
probation of your present government on this score, is 
the sentiment of those, who are subjects of other na- 
tions, as well as of this ; but I am happy to say, that 
1 have found no character, who any otherwise thinks 
ill of you. This is not a negative regard, bestowed 
on a people they think cannot approximate their im- 
portance, and therefore deserve pity ; it is a positive 
one ; and you may please yourself with the assurance 
of its originating from your general conduct during 
the war. Another feather in your cap, and that not 
an obscure one, let me tell you, is the plain, affable, 
and honest deportment of your kinsfolk, who sojourn 
hereabout. Brother Jonathan is an agreeable singu- 
larity. These observations, which you are included 
in, did not come from the cabinet of Charles, or the 
Pope, who no doubt hate you very sincerely ; the one 
for your laws, which he fears ; and the other for your 
religion, which he is unwise enough to abominate. 



144 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" The great complaint, which people make against 
your government is the obscure, unimportant, unener- 
getic investitures of Congress. So strongly are they 
impressed with the idea of the degree of powder, 
which Congress ought to hold, compared with what 
they now conceive it to be invested with, that they 
declare the resolve of a Boston committee commands 
more immediate attention in Cadiz, than a congres- 
sional one would do ; observing, that although Con- 
gress claims more respectability, it only demands 
what it ought to have, and not what it is possessed of. 
They further add, that whatever embarrassments may 
attend the progress of a young nation, and however 
excusable some exigences may have rendered some 
parts of your conduct, yet surely the leading prelimi- 
naries, the first strong outlines, that form the basis of 
a great republic, cannot be thus lost sight of without 
reflecting on your councils. Have you formed even a 
treaty of friendship with that pestilential meteor in 
power, Hamet, Emperor of Morocco? No. Have 
you in your own right a Mediterranean passport? 
No. What security have you then for your Straits- 
men ? The savage, Hamet, knows no medium in 
such kind of friendship ; never dreamt of such a 
thing as an independent neutrality. What will you 
do then ? Eat all your flour, cod, spars, and potash, 
or ransom your captiv'ated countrymen at fifteen 
hundred pounds a head, and lose your produce ? 
Hamet wants your alliance. Give the snarling mas- 
tiff a bone, and while he is gnawing it you can do as 
you please. It is certain, that your unorganized sys- 
tem of government is here much talked of, and you 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 145 

know the consequence of these matters being much 
talked of. Your paltry state schisms are considered to 
be such vulgar errors, as a people aiming at the most 
refined system of government could not commit, vvith- 
out the imputation of perfect insanity. But adieu, 
politics. Indeed I know not what humor prompted 
me to offer my advice to you in this way. 

" If the incongruity of my letter bespeaks a pertur- 
bation of mind, it will not deceive you. It is a 
cloudy day with me. However, my hobby tells me it 
will be fair weather tomorrow ; and I believe it, be- 
cause I wish it. You will probably next hear from 
me in France. In the mean time, let me make sure 
of one circumstance, and if tomorrow bring its mis- 
fortunes, they will be less severe, when I reflect on 
having said to those I know will believe me, that no 
evil, till that which is esteemed the last of evils, can 
ever obliterate, or even obscure, that lasting affection 
and esteem, which I have for you and your best of 
brothers. My other remembrances I commit to your 
care." 

He remained in Cadiz but a few days after this letter 
was written, when he somewhat unexpectedly procur- 
ed a passage for Brest, on board the French ship 
Bourbon. It was rare for him to be out of health, 
but in Cadiz he was attacked with a fever, which had 
scracely left him when he went to sea. While on 
board he writes, " My fever was in consequence of a 
slight cold originally, and heightened by a fit of un- 
common melancholy ; but I am getting about again, 
and excepting a slight debility, and some of Cook's 
rheumatism in my bones, I am well." His spirits 
19 



146 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

were not unfrequently oppressed, when the various 
turns in his affairs left him inactive, with precarious 
means of support, and uncertain as to the future ; but 
he took great pains to conceal the symptoms of gloom 
from his friends. They are occasionally discovered 
in his letters, rather from his forced attempts to be 
cheerful and gay, when it is evident by the general 
tenor of his thoughts, that his heart is sad, than from 
any formal complaints of his ill fortune, or repinings 
at the will of Providence. He was now visiting 
Europe in the prosecution of what he deemed a noble 
and important enterprise ; but he was going among 
strangers, who could only be induced to listen to his 
proposals by motives of interest, and whom he must 
inspire with some portion of his own enthusiasm, be- 
fore they could be expected to favor his schemes, or 
even comprehend his views. The task thus presented 
to him was disheartening. But however despondency 
might sometimes give a hue to his thoughts, he never 
suffered it to weaken his resolution, or repress his 
ardor. The great object of pursuit was never lost sight 
of, while his way to its accomplishment was lighted by 
a gleam of hope. The whole force of his mind was 
now bent upon a voyage of trade and discovery to 
the Northwest Coast. He was powerfully impressed 
with the belief, that such an enterprise would redound 
to the honor of those engaged in it, and confer new 
benefits upon the commercial world ; and was not a 
little chagrined at the small' encouragement, which his 
strenuous exertions had received in his own country. 

In this state of mind it is no wonder, that he should 
express himself in the following language on his 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 147^ 

voyage to Brest. " I saw an English gentleman at 
Cadiz, who assured me, that about six months past a 
ship of seven hundred tons, commissioned by the Em- 
press of Russia, was fitted out in the English Thames 
on a voyage to the back parts of America ; that she 
was armed, and commanded by a Russian, and that 
some of her officers were those, who had been with 
Cook. You see the business deserves the attention I 
have endeavored, and am still striving to give it ; and 
had Morris not shrunk behind a trifling obstruction, I 
should have been happy, and America would this mo- 
ment be triumphantly displaying her flag in the most 
remote and beneficial regions of commerce. I am 
tired of my vexations." 

He arrived, after a short passage, at Brest, and set 
off by land through Quimper to L' Orient. " I am 
now at Quimper," he writes, " and tomorrow, if my 
horses please, I will be in L' Orient. ' What will you 
do there ? ' The best I can. Brest is a naval arse- 
nal, but not so respectable as I had imagined. Mon- 
sieur de Kerguelen, the great navigator, lives within 
nine miles of me, but a Holland consul has me by the 
button, and I cannot see him. The dialect of Bre- 
tagne has some resemblance both to the Irish and 
Welsh. But, good night ; I must sleep. Tired na- 
ture will have it so." From Quimper he proceeded 
to L' Orient, where he immediately began to put his 
affairs in train. 

The letters he brought with him from respectable 
sources, procured him a speedy acquaintance with gen- 
tlemen of the first character in the place ; and his plan 
was received with so much approbation, that within 



148 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

twelve days he completed a negotiation with a com- 
pany of merchants, and a ship was selected for the in- 
tended voyage. Mutual engagements were enter- 
ed into by the parties, and everything seemed to 
wear the most promising aspect. So unaccustomed 
had he been to such good fortune, that he could hard- 
ly realize at first the happy issue of events as they 
then stood. " I have been so much the sport of ac- 
cident," said he, " that I am exceedingly suspicious. 
It is true, that in this L' Orient negotiation, I have 
guarded every avenue to future disappointment, with 
all possible caution ; yet this head I wear, is so much 
a dupe to my heart, and at other times my heart is so 
bewildered by my head, that in matters of business I 
have not much confidence in either." He then speaks 
of the point to which the negotiation had been brought, 
and adds, " but here comes a hut, — ah, these huts ; 
pray Heaven they may not hut the modicum of brains 
out of my head, which Morris has left there. The 
hut is this. I have arrived so late in the season, that 
the merchants have procrastinated the equipment un- 
til next summer, and requested me to stay here till 
then, allowing me genteelly for that purpose. And 
were I but certain, that no cruel misfortune would 
eventually happen, I should be quite happy, for present 
appearances could not be better. Upon any consider- 
ation, it is for my interest to wait the event ; and as I 
hourly perceive the folly of repining at a disappointed 
wish, or, indeed, of suffering what I may happen to call 
misfortune, whether present or anticipated, to meet 
any other reception from me, than the most undaunted 
which my experience can enable me to meet it with, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 149 

I am determined to sit down, not despondingly, de- 
jectedly, or supinely — 'What a vile row of adverbs — 
but contemplatively, cheerily, and industriously. It 
seems decreed by somewhat, that I shall be driven 
about the world in a most untraversable way ; but in 
whatever clime I may alight, my ardent desire is, that 
the friendship of my friends may greet me well. This 
done, I have drunk my cordial, and there is not a richer 
in France — and only in America one, which perfumed 
the air from M — ■ to Amboy House." 

All things being thus arranged to his mind, and hav- 
ing nothing to regret but the procrastination of his 
voyage, which he perceived to be unavoidable, he re- 
solved to spend the winter in L' Orient, and be in 
readiness to commence preparations the moment that 
the season would admit. It was now October, and 
the opinion of the merchants was, that a suitable ves- 
sel could not be obtained and properly fitted out before 
the succeeding August. Ten months for such an ob- 
ject seemed a long period to Ledyard, as well in- 
deed they might, but experience had taught him pa- 
tience ; and the fair prospects held out by this nego- 
tiation, together with the consideration, that, by leav- 
ing France at the close of summer, he would pass 
round Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean at the most 
favorable season, reconciled him to the delay. In the 
mean time, being supplied with a liberal income by 
the mercantile company mentioned above, he frequent- 
ed the best society in L' Orient, to whom his exten- 
sive knowledge of the world, his general intelligence, 
mipretending manners, and frank and generous tem- 
per, always made him acceptable. Nothing occurred 



150 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARt). 

to interrupt his happiness, or darken his hopes, during 
the four months that followed, except occasional re- 
flections on the time that had been lost in his fruitless 
endeavors, and the glory that others were reaping in 
the field of discovery, which he ought to have been 
the first to explore. 

" I wrote you last," says he, " that a Russian ship 
had been sent into that part of the vast Pacific Ocean. 
Four nights ago, I saw a Russian gentleman from 
Petersburg, who informed me of two ships having 
been sent thither. In our yesterday's paper, it is said 
that the ship Seahorse, belonging to the English Hud- 
son's Bay Company, had made a voyage thither, and 
returned well. You see what honorable testimonies 
daily transpire to evince, that I am no otherwise the 
mad, romantic, dreaming Ledyard, than in the estima- 
tion of those who thought me so. The flame of 
enterprise, that I kindled in America, terminated in a 
flash, that bespoke little foresight or resolution in my 
patrons. Perseverance was an effort of understand- 
ing, which twelve rich merchants were incapable of 
making ; and whether I now succeed or not, the obsta- 
cles I have surmounted, to reach my present attain- 
ment, infer some small merit, which I do not blush to 
own among my private pleasures." 

The winter soon passed away, and near the end of 
February measures began to be taken for equipping the 
vessel for sea. It was intended, that a commission 
from the king should be obtained to sail on a voyage 
of discovery. Some advantages, it was supposed, 
would thus be derived to the mercantile interests of 
the voyage, as the vessel would be clothed with a 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 161 

public character, and from this circumstance ensure a 
greater respect from any foreigners she might fall in 
with, as well as enable the owners to claim, in the 
name of the King of France, any islands or unknown 
regions, that might be actually discovered. A memo- 
rial, and other suitable papers, were sent to the king's 
ministers, applying for such a privilege, and for letters 
of recommendation to the European public agents 
residing in those parts of the world, at which the ves- 
sel would probably touch. On the twentythird of 
February, 1785, Ledyard wrote to his brothers from 
L'Orient ; " My affairs in France are likely to prove 
of the greatest honor and advantage to me. I have a 
fine ship of four hundred tons, and in August next I 
expect to sail on another voyage round the world, at 
the end of which, if Heaven is propitious to me, I hope 
to see you. In the mean time, may the God of nature 
spread his mantle over you all. If I never see you 
more, it shall be well ; if I do, it shall be well ; so be 
happy and of good cheer." From this tone of his 
feelings, it is evident that his heart was light, and his 
hopes high. Up to this point all things had proceeded 
according to his expectations and wishes ; he had 
passed an agreeable winter in a social and refined cir- 
cle of friends, and he began now to enjoy in anticipa- 
tion the triumphs of his zeal and perseverance. 

But unfortunately this flattering vision was soon to 
be dissipated, like the many others, by which he had 
been elated and deceived ; again was he to be made, 
in his own phrase, " the sport of accident ; " again 
w^as the burden of a cruel disappointment to weigh 
on his spirits, and disturb his repose. After the 



152 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

date of the above letter, we hear no more of the 
L'Orient negotiation, excejDt that it failed. Whether 
this result, so desolating to the hopes of our adven- 
turer, was produced by the caprice of the merchants, 
who had united with him in the undertaking, or 
by any sudden change in their affairs, which took 
from them the ability of fulfilling their contract, or 
by the refusal of the government to grant such a 
commission as was expected, or by all these com- 
bined, is not known. It is enough, that the voy- 
age w^as entirely abandoned, and Ledyard was left 
with no other recompense for this new vexation, than 
his ow^n mortified feelings, and the prospects of a fu- 
ture too gloomy even for him to contemplate unmoved. 
The slender stock of money, with which he landed in 
Europe, was completely exhausted ; he could expect 
no more from the L'Orient merchants, nor from any 
other quarter ; and, what afflicted him more severely 
than all the rest, the last resort for carrying into effect 
his darling plan of northwestern discovery and trade, 
had been tried in vain. No consolation remained 
for his baffled purposes and wasted zeal. Yet fifteen 
years' experience, in buffeting the rough and some- 
times perilous current of life, had taught him other 
lessons than those of despondency, and nerved him 
for other deeds than a tam.e submission to the control 
of untoward circumstances. His bewildering doubts, 
as to what course he should pursue, detained him a 
short time in L'Orient. He looked to Paris as the 
theatre, on which he would be most likely to better 
his fortunes, and after his concerns relative to the 
voyage were closed, he hastened to that capital. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 153 



CHAPTER VO. 

Meets with Mr Jeiferson at Paris. — Project of a voyage to the Northwest Coast 
with Paul Jones, for the purpose of establishing a trading factory there. — 
Proposes travelling across the continent from Nootka Sound to the United 
States. — Thinks of going to Africa with Mr Lamb. — Remarks on Paris, and 
various objects that came under his notice. — The IQng at Versailles. — Mr 
Jefferson and Lafayette. — The Queen at St Cloud.— Application through 
Baron Grimm to the Empress of Russia, to obtain permission for him to travel 
across her dom.inions to Bering's Strait. — Colonel Humphreys. — Contemplates 
going to Petersburg, before the Empress' answer is received. — Curious 
anecdote of Sir James Hall. — Visit to the hospitals in Paris. — Tour in Nor- 
mandy. — Proceeds to London, where he engages a passage on board a vessel 
just ready to sail for the Northwest Coast. — Colonel Smith's letter to Mr 
Jay. — The voyage defeated. — Resolves anew to go to Russia. — Sir Joseph 
Banks and other gentlemen contribute funds to aid him in his travels. 

At this time Mr Jeiferson was minister from the 
United States at the court of France. That patriot, 
equally ardent in the love of science, and friendly to 
every enterprise, which had for its object the improve- 
ment of his country, received Ledyard with great 
kindness, and approved most highly his design of an 
expedition to the Northwest Coast of America. He 
perceived at once the advantages, that would flow from 
such a voyage, not merely in its immediate mercantile 
results, but in its bearing on the future commerce and 
political interests of the United States. No part of 
that wide region had then been explored, nor any 
formal possession taken of it, except the few points 
at which Cook's vessels had touched, and others 
where the Russians possessed small establishments for 
the prosecution of the fur trade with the Indians, 
These latter were also probably confined to the 
20 



154 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

islands. To a statesman like Mr Jefferson it was 
evident, that a large portion of that immense country, 
separated from the United States by no barrier of 
nature, would eventually be embraced in their territory. 
He was convinced of the propriety, therefore, of its 
being explored by a citizen of the United States, and 
regretted the failure of Ledyard's attempts in his 
own country to engage in a voyage before the same 
thing had been meditated anywhere else. These 
views were deeply impressed on the mind of Mr 
Jefferson, and in them originated the journey of Lewis 
and Clark over land to the Pacific Ocean, twenty 
years afterwards, which was projected by him, and 
prosecuted under his auspices. 

Ledyard had not been many days in France, before 
he became acquainted with Paul Jones, at that time 
acting mider a commission from the Congress of the 
United States, to demand the amount of certain prizes, 
which he had taken during the war, particularly in the 
famous capture of the Serapis and the Countess of 
Scarborough, and sent into French ports. This intre- 
pid adventurer, being now unemployed in any military 
or public service, eagerly seized Ledyard's idea, and 
an arrangement was closed, by which thej agreed to 
unite in an expedition, on a scale somewhat larger 
than Ledyard had before contemplated. Two vessels 
were to be fitted out, and, if possible, commissioned 
by the king. Jones was to use his influence at court, 
to persuade the government to enlist in the enterprise, 
or at least to furnish the vessels and the requisite naval 
armament. If this could, not be effected, it was re- 
solved that the outfits should be reduced within the 



LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 155 

limits of Jones's private means, and the two partners 
would act wholly on their own responsibility and risk. 
If it should be found necessary to pursue the enter- 
prise, on their private account alone, the two vessels 
were to proceed in company to the Northwest Coast, 
and commence a factory there under the American 
flag. The first six months were to be spent in col- 
lecting furs, and looking out for a suitable spot to es- 
tablish a post, either on the main land, or on an island. 
A small stockade was then to be built, in which Led- 
yard was to be left with a surgeon, an assistant, and 
twenty soldiers ; one of the vessels was to be de- 
spatched, with its cargo of furs, under the command of 
Paul Jones, to China, while the other was to remain in 
order to facilitate the collecting of another cargo during 
his absence. Jones was to return with both the vessels 
to China, sell their cargoes of furs, load them with 
silks and teas, and continue his voyage round the 
Cape of Good Hope to Europe, or the United States. 
He was then to replenish his vessels with suitable 
articles for traffic with the Indians, and proceed as 
expeditiously as possible round Cape Horn, to the 
point of his departure in the Northern Pacific. Mean- 
time Ledyard and his party were to employ themselves 
in purchasing furs, cultivating a good understanding 
with the natives, and making such discoveries on the 
coast, as their situation would allow. Ledyard sup- 
posed he should be absent four or five years, and per- 
haps six or seven.* 



* A voyage from Canton to the Northwest Coast, and back to that 
port, for purposes similar to those meditated by Ledyard and Paul 



156 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Here was a scheme, that might give full scope to 
the imagination of the two heroes by vvhom it had 
been conceived, presenting at once the prospect of 
hazard, adventure, fame, and profit. Thej dwelt upon 
it with complacency, and so much was Jones taken 
with it, that he advanced money to Ledyard with 
which to purchase a part of the cargo for the outfit, 
even before he had applied to the government for aid, 
being determined to prosecute it at his own risk if he 
failed in that quarter. But at this moment, his affairs 
in regard to the prize-money assumed a crisis, which 
compelled him to go from Paris to L'Orient, where 
he was detained nearly three months ; and although he 
was ultimately successful, yet his zeal for this new 
scheme gradually cooled down, as he probably found 
that the government would do nothing in the matter, 
and that his private fortune was not adequate to so 
expensive an undertaking. At any rate, it fell through, 
and after four or five months of suspense, Ledyard had 
the renewed mortification of another disappointment, 
and of seeing his ardent wishes no nearer their accom- 
plishment, than when he left L'Orient. The only 
advantage he had derived from his intercourse with 
the Chevalier, was an allowance of money sufficient 
for his maintenance, which Jones had stipulated at 
the commencement of the negotiation, and which he 
had promptly paid. 



Jones, was performed fourteen years afterwards by Captain Richard J. 
Cleveland. Whoever would understand the difficulties and dangers of 
such an enterprise, at that time, will be pleased with reading- a brief 
account of Captain Cleveland's voyage, in the North American Review 
for October, ]827. No. 57. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 157 

Just at this time Mr Lamb, the diplomatic agent 
appointed by the Congress of the United States to 
treat with the Dey of Algiers, arrived in Paris. Led- 
yard met him occasionally at Mr Jefferson's, took an 
interest in his mission, and had serious thoughts of 
joining him and going to Africa, but for what specific 
purpose is not told. The lingering desire., however, 
of still being able to conquer the fatality of circum- 
stances, which had hitherto impeded his progress to 
glory, in the course his fancy had pictured to him, 
continued to sustain him with the hope of a better 
turn of fortune, aiid to urge him forward to untried 
expedients. 

Ill Paris he associated Yv^ith several Americans, who 
approved and encouraged his ardor, and whose society 
afforded him consolation in the midst of his misfor- 
tunes, but who were not in a condition to promote his 
wishes, or remove his embarrassments. The question, 
what was to be done, which he had so often been 
compelled to ask himself, in cases of similar extremity, 
now recurred anew, and with as small a prospect as 
ever of its being answered in such a manner, as to 
lull his apprehensions, or relieve his anxiety. He 
determined to adventure one effort more, and submit 
the same proposition to a mercantile company in Paris, 
which he had done i^ L'Orient. Some progress was 
made in an attempt to organize such a company, but 
it was never matured. It was his intention, after he 
had visited the coastj and procured a full cargo of furs, 
to despatch the vessel to China under proper officers, 
and return himself across the continent to the United 
States, thus accomplishing the double object of a 



158 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

lucrative voyage, and a tour of discovery through an 
unexplored wilderness of four thousand miles in ex- 
tent. Afterwards he would join the expedition in the 
company's service, either in France, or any other part 
of the world, as circumstances might dictate. Such 
was the compass of his desires ; yet he w^ould have 
relinquished the idea of this exploratory tour, and re- 
joiced to engage in a voyage merely for commercial 
ends, if even that could have been effected. 

Several months were passed in unavailing efforts to 
conquer obstacles, which seemed to thicken as he ad- 
vanced, and in vainly striving to enlighten ignorance 
and overcome prejudice, till his perseverance could 
hold out no longer, and he was forced to abandon the 
thought of a voyage by sea to the Northwest Coast, 
either for trade or discovery. He continued in Paris, 
but felt himself, as he really was, a wanderer without 
employment or motive. With Mr Jefferson, the 
Marquis de la Fayette, Mr Barclay the American con- 
sul, and other gentlemen of character and conse- 
quence, he was on terms of intimacy. In this society, 
and enjoying the amusements afforded in the capital 
of France, his time passed away agreeably enough, 
and in some of his letters he speaks of his happiness ; 
yet he was far from being satisfied ; he suffered under 
the pressure of want and a corrq^ing sense of depen- 
dence ; and occasionally his finances were at so low 
an ebb, that he was compelled, however reluctantly, to 
be a pensioner on the bounty of his friends. So dis- 
interested were his aims, however, and so entirely did 
he sacrifice every selfish consideration in prosecuting 
them ; so benevolent was his disposition, and so en- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 159 

larged his views of serving mankind, that no one con- 
sidered favors of this sort in the light of obligations 
conferred, nor so much acts of charity, as a just tri- 
bute to the singleness of his heart, the generosity of 
his purposes, and the effective warmth of his zeal. 

A few miscellaneous extracts from his letters, writ- 
ten during the first months of his residence in Paris, 
may properly come in here. They will give some 
insight into his occupations, as well as his habit 
of observing events and objects in the great world 
around him. -^^ 

" Paris is situated in an extended plain, rising on 
all sides into gradual elevations, and some little hills 
happily interspersed in the borders of its horizon. Its 
extent, viewed from the tower of Notre Dame, ap- 
peared to me less than London, though it must be 
larger. The public buildings are numerous, and some 
of them magnificent. Paris is the centre of France, 
and its centre is the Palais Royal, the resort of the 
greatest virtues and the greatest vices of such a king- 
dom. It is France in miniature, and no friend to 
France should ever see it. The Tuilleries afford a 
consummate display of artificial elegance and gran- 
deur ; the gardens of the Luxembourg are much in- 
ferior. The Boulevards were originally fortifications, 
and they now form a broad way that surrounds the 
city, separating it from the suburbs. It is well lined 
with fine umbrageous elms on each side, forming a 
beautiful course for coaches and horsemen ; but the 
farmers-general, to prevent illicit trade, are walling it 
in, at the expense of a thousand lamentations of the 
Parisians, and several millions of livres. I have been 



160 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

once at the king's library. Papa Franklin, as the 
French here call him, is among a number of statues 
that I saw. The bust of Paul Jones is also there. 
Did you ever know, that Captain Jones was two or 
three nights successively crowned with laurels, at the 
great Opera House in Paris, after the action between 
the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis ? 

" I find at our minister's table between fifteen and 
twenty Americans, inclusive of two or three ladies. 
It is very remarkable, that we are neither despised nor 
envied for our love of liberty, but very often caressed. 
I was yesterday at Versailles. It was the feast of St 
Louis, but I never feasted so ill in my life, as at the 
hotel w^here I dined, and never paid so dear for a din- 
ner. I was too late to see the procession of the king 
and queen, but I was little disappointed on that ac^ 
count, as I had already seen those baubles. The 
king I saw a fortnight before to very great advantage, 
being near to him while he was shooting partridges in 
the fields. He was dressed in common musqueto 
trowsers, a short linen frock, and an old laced hat 
without a cockade. He had an easy, gentlemanly 
appearance ; and had it not been for his few attend- 
ants, I should have taken him for the captain of a 
merchant ship, amusing himself in the field. The 
Palace at Versailles, and its gardens, are an ornament 
to the face of the globe. It was dirty weather. I 
wore boots, and consequently was prohibited from 
visiting the galleries. I was in company with our 
Mr Barclay, Colonel Franks of the American army, a 
young Virginian, and an English sea officer. Franks 
was booted too ; but though honest Tom Barclay was 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 161 

not, he had no bag on, and they were dismissed also ; 
so that boots on, and bags off, are sad recommendations 
at the court of Versailles." 

" If the two Fitzhughs remain in town a week 
longer, you shall have a week's detail. They dine 
with me to day in my chamber, together with our 
worthy consul Barclay, and that lump of universality, 
Colonel Franks. But such a set of moneyless rascals 
have never appeared, since the epoch of the happy 
villain Falstafif. I have but five French crowns in the 
world ; Franks has not a sol ; and the Fitzhughs 
cannot get their tobacco money. 

" Mr Jefferson is an able minister, and our country 
may repose a confidence in him equal to their best 
wishes. Whether in public or private, he is in every 
word and every action, the representative of a young, 
vigorous, and determined state. His only competitors 
here, even in political fame, are Vergennes and La 
Fayette. In other accomplishments he stands alone. 
The Marquis de la Fayette is one of the most growing 
characters in this kingdom. He has planted a tree in 
America, and sits under its shade at Versailles. He 
is now at the court of old Frederick. I am sure, that 
you could not yourself have manifested more alacrity 
to serve me, than he has done. The Marquis is a 
warm friend to America. It will be difficult for any 
subsequent plenipotentiary to have as much personal 
influence in France, as Dr Franklin had ; it will at 
least be so, till the causes, which created that venerable 
patriot's ascendency, shall become less recent in the 
minds of the people. I had the pleasure of being but 
once at his house, before his departure, and although 
21 



162 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

bent down with age and infirmities, the excellent old 
man exhibited all the good cheer of health, the gay 
philosopher, and the kindness of a friendly coun- 
v^ryman." 

" It has been a holiday to day ; the nativity of the 
Virgin Mary. My friend, the Abbe D'Aubrey, tells 
me, that they have but eightytwo holidays in the year, 
which are publicly regarded ; but this is a mistake ; 
they have more. We both agree, that they have 
eightytwo less than they formerly had. There are 
certainly a hundred days in this city every year, 
whereon all the shops are shut, and there is a general 
suspension of business ; for the good policy of which, 
let them look to it. You will hear in your papers of an 
affair, between a certain Cardinal and the Queen of 
France. It has been the topic of conversation here 
for thirty days ; and forty fools, that have expressed 
themselves too freely in the matter for the police, are 
already in the Bastile. We have news to day, that 
the king will have him tried by the Parliament, and 
has written to that dying meteor, the Pope, not to 
meddle in the business." 

" I was late home yesterday evening from the feast 
of St Cloud, held at a little town of that name on 
the bank of the Seine. It is particularly remarkable 
for having the Queen's Gardens in it, and a house 
for the Queen, called a Palace. The chief circum- 
stance, which renders the village a place of curiosity 
to strangers, is the waterworks, which, after the labor 
of many years and vast expense, exhibit a sickly cas- 
cade, and thvee jets d?eau, or fountains, that cast water 
into the air. The largest of these throws out a col- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 163 

umn as big as a man's arm, which rises about thirty 
yards. In the evening I entered a part of the gardens, 
where some fireworks were played off. The tickets 
were twentyfonr sols. The fireworks were very few, 
but good. This little rustic entertainment of the 
Queen's, was with great propriety attended with very 
little parade about her person. It was a mere rural 
revel, and never before did I see majesty and tag-rag 
so philosophically blended ; a few country fiddlers 
scraping, and Kate of the mill tripping it with Dick 
of the vineyard. 

"^ Thus you see how some few of my days pass^ 
away. I See a great deal, and think a great deal, but 
derive little pleasure from either, because I am forced 
into both, and am alone in both." 

By these methods he endeavored to amuse himself, 
and forget his favorite scheme of traversing the west- 
ern continent, and ascertaining its physical character 
and commercial resources ; but this was not possible ; 
it had taken too strong a hold of him to admit of 
being driven altogether from his mind. As fate seem- 
ed to throw difficulties insurmountable in the way of 
a passage by sea, he bethought himself of the only 
remaining expedient, by which a part of his original 
design might be carried into execution ; and that W'as, 
to travel by land through the northern regions of 
Europe and Asia, cross over Bering's Strait to the 
American continent, and pursue his route thence down 
the coast, and to the interior, in such a manner as the 
exigencies of his condition might point out to him 
when on the spot. 



164 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

The first object requiring attention, was to gain 
ipermission of the Empress of Russia to pass through 
her immense territories to Kamtschatka. Mr Jeffer- 
son, who heartily approved the project, interested 
himself in this preliminary measure, and applied to 
M. de Simoulin, minister plenipotentiary from Russia 
at the court of France, and especially to the Baron de 
Grimm, minister from Saxe-Gotha at the same court. 
Grimm was a correspondent and private agent of the 
Empress, and would be likely to have as much influ- 
ence with her in a matter of this sort, as her public 
minister. Both these gentlemen very readily acceded 
to Mr Jefferson's request, and made in his name a 
direct application to the Empress, soliciting permis- 
sion for Ledyard, in the character of an American 
citizen, to travel through her dominions. As haste is 
not a characteristic of transactions of this sort with 
crowned heads, the impatient traveller resolved to 
busy himself in the best manner he could, at least till 
a reasonable time should elapse for a reply. In the 
interim he retired to St Germain, where he after- 
wards commonly resided during his stay in France. 
The letter, which contains the following passages, is 
dated at St Germain, on the eighth of April, 1786. 

" If Congress should yet be at New York, this will be 
delivered to you by my friend, and almost every body's 
friend. Colonel Humphreys, whom you knevi^ in days 
of yore. He is secretary to our legation at the court 
of France, has a good head and a good heart ; but his 
hobby is poetry, and as the English reviewers allow him 
merit therein, I may very safely venture to do it. He is 
a friendly, good soul, a sincere yankee, and so affection- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 165 

ately fond of his country, that to be in his society here 
is at least as good to me, as a dream of being at home. 
I imagine he takes despatches, but as we are republi- 
cans a little more polished, than on your side of the 
water, we never presume to ask impertinent questions. 
" You have doubtless by this time received my let- 
ters by Mr Barrett. Your hearing from me so often 
by those, who intimately know my situation, and who 
are so much my friends, is a happy circumstance ; bat 
I would freely have relinquished the pleasure, which I 
take in writing this letter, to have been where I sup- 
posed I should be when I wrote you last. But soon 
after the departure of Mr Barrett, our minister, the 
Russian minister, and the Marquis de la Fayette, took 
it into their heads, that I should not go directly to 
Petersburg, but wait till I was sent for, which is the 
occasion of my being here to write you at this time. 
You see that I have so many friends, that I cannot do 
just as I please. I am very well in health. A gra- 
cious Providence, and the Indian corn diet of my 
childhood, added to the robust scenes I have since 
passed through, have left me at the same age at 
which my father died, ' healthy, active, vigorous, and 
strong.' * I am for a few weeks at the little town 
where my letter is dated, and as I live upon the skirt 
of a royal forest, I am every day in it, and it is usual 
for me to run two miles an end and return. I am like 
one of Swift's Houyhnhnms. Ask Humphreys if I 
did not walk into Paris last week, and return to dine 
with Madam Barclay the same morning, a distance 

* A line from his father's tombstone ; he died at the age of thirt)^ve. 



166 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

equal at least to twentyfour of our miles. But this is 
not the work of nature ; she made me a voluptuous, 
pensive animal, intended for the tranquil scenes of 
domestic life, for ease and contemplation, and a thou- 
sand other fine soft matters, that I have thought 
nothing about, since I was in love with R. E. of Ston- 
ington. What fate intends further, I leave to fate ; 
but it is very certain, that there has ever been a great 
difference between the manner of life I have actually 
led, and that which I should have chosen ; and this is 
not to be attributed more, perhaps, to the irregular in- 
cidents that have alternately caressed and insulted 
me, than to the irregularity of my genius. Tom 
Barclay, our consul, who knows mankind and me very 
w^ell, tells me that he never saw such a medley as in 
me. The Virginian gentlemen here call me Oliver 
Cromwell, and say, that, like him, I shall be ' damn'd 
to fame ; ' but I have never dared to prophesy, how- 
ever, that it would be by a Virginian poet. 

" I every hour expect my summons to Peters- 
burg from the Russian minister. I shall have a de- 
lightful season to pass through Germany, though it 
does not suit my tour well. I shall lose a season 
by it. I am not certain about the result of this busi- 
ness, and shall not be perfectly at ease, till I have been 
introduced to the Empress." 

From a remark above, it may be inferred, that 
Ledyard wished to begin his journey to Petersburg 
before any intelligence had been received by the 
Russian minister in reply to his application. His 
principal motive doubtless was, that he might take 
advantage of the season, and reach Siberia so far in 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 167 

anticipation of the severest parts of the winter, as not 
to be blocked up for several months by the snows in 
that frigid region. His advisers considered such a step 
ill judged, inasmuch as a formal petition had been sent 
to the Empress, and it would evince a want of proper 
respect to set out on the journey, before her answer 
had been returned, however strong might be the prob- 
ability that her consent would be granted. These 
points of etiquette were overlooked by the traveller, 
in his eagerness to be on the road, and he moreover 
thought the business might as well be settled at the 
court of the Empress in Petersburg, as through 
her minister in Paris. The event proved his impres- 
sions not to be ill founded. His forebodings were 
verified, for he was kept in daily expectation for more 
than five months, without receiving an answer, or 
hearing anything on the subject either from M. de 
Simoulin, or the Baron de Grimm. His last letter 
from France is a very long one, dated at St Germain, 
the eighth of August, 1786. It touches on a great 
variety of topics, and was written at different times. 

" Since I wrote to you by Colonel Humphreys," 
says he to his friend, " I have been at St Germain, 
waiting the issue of my affair at Petersburg. You 
wonder by what means I exist, having brought with 
me to Paris this time twelve months only three 
louis d'ors. Ask vice-consuls, consuls, ministers, and 
plenipotentiaries, all of whom have been tributary to 
me. You think I joke. No ; upon my honor, and, 
however irreconcileable to my temper, disposition, 
and education, it is nevertheless strictly true. Every 
day of my life, my dear cousin, is a day of expectation. 



168 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

and consequently a day of disappointment. Whether 
I shall have a morsel of bread to eat at the end of 
two months, is as much an uncertainty, as it was four- 
teen months ago, and not more so. The near ap- 
proach, that I have so often made to each extreme of 
happiness and distress, without absolutely entering 
into either, has rendered me so hardy, that I can meet 
either with composure. 

"Permit me to relate to you an incident. About a 
fortnight ago, Sir James Hall, an English gentleman, 
on his way from Paris to Cherbourg, stopped his 
coach at our door, and came up to my chamber. I 
was in bed at six o'clock in the morning, but having 
flung on my rohe de chambre, I met him at the door 
of the antechamber. I was glad to see him, but sur- 
prised. He observed, that he had endeavored to make 
up his opinion of me, with as much exactness as possi- 
ble, and concluded that no kind of visit whatever 
would surprise me. I could do no otherwise than 
remark, that his opinion surprised me at least, and the 
conversation took another turn. In W'alking across the 
chamber, he laughingly put his hand on a six livre 
piece and a louis d'or, that lay on my table, and with 
a half stifled blush, asked me how I was in the money 
w^ay. Blushes commonly beget blushes, and I blushed 
partly because he did, and partly on other accounts. 
' If fifteen guineas,' said he, interrupting the answer 
he had demanded, 'will be of any service to you, 
there they are,' and he put them on the table. ' I am 
a traveller myself, and though \ have some fortune to 
support my travels, yet I have been so situated as 
to want money, which you ought not to do. You 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 169 

have my address in London.' He then wished me a 
good morning and left me. This gentleman was a 
total stranger to the situation of my finances, and one 
that I had by mere accident met at an ordinary in 
Paris. We had conversed together several times, and 
he once sent his carriage for me to dine with him. I 
found him handsomely lodged in the best Fauxbourg 
in the city. Two members of the British House of 
Commons, two lords, Beaumarchais, and several 
members of the Royal Academy, were at his table. 
He had seen me two or three times after that, and 
always expressed the highest opinion of the tour I had 
determined to make, and said he would, as a citizen 
of the world, do anything in his power to promote 
it ; but I had no more idea of receiving money from 
him, than I have this moment of receiving it from Tip- 
poo Saib. However, I took it without any hesitation, 
and told him I would be as complaisant to him, if ever 
occasion offered." 

" I have once visited the Foundling Hospital, and 
the Hospital de Dieu, in Paris ; twice 1 never shall. 
Not all the morality from Confucius to Addison could 
give me such feelings. Eighteen foundlings were 
brought the day of my visit. One was brought in while 
I was there. Dear little innocents ! But you are, 
happily, insensible of your situations. Where are your 
unfortunate mothers ? Perhaps in the adjoining" hos- 
pital ; they have to feel for you and themselves too. 
But where is the wretch, the villain, the monster — ? 
I was not six minutes in the house. It is customary to 
leave a few pence ; I flung down six livres and retired. 
Determined to persevere, I continued my visit over 



170 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 

the way to the Hospital de Dieu. I entered first the 
apartments of the women. Why will you, my dear 
sisters, I was going to say as I passed along between 
the beds in ranks, why will you be — but I was inter- 
rupted by a melancholy figure, that appeared at its 
last gasp, or already dead. ' She 's dead,' said I to a 
German gentleman, who was with me, ' and nobody 
knows or cares anything about it.' We approached 
the bedside. I observed a slight undulatory motion in 
one of the jugular arteries. 'She 's not dead,' said I, 
and siezed her hand to search for her pulse. I hoped 
to find life, but it was gone. The word dead being 
again pronounced, brought the nuns to the bed. ' My 
God ! ' exclaimed the head nun, ' she 's dead ; ' — 
' Jesu, Maria ! ' exclaimed the other nuns, in their de- 
fence, ' she 's dead.' The head, nun scolded the others 
for their mal-attendance. ' My God ! ' continued she, 
' she is dead without the form.' ' Dieu ! ' said the others, 
' she died so silently.' ' Silence,' said the elder, ' per- 
haps she is not dead; say the form.' The form was 
said, and the sheet thrown over her face." 

" While in Normandy 1 was at the seat of Conflans, 
the successor of him, who was so unfortunate in a 
naval affair with Hawke of England. It is the lord- 
ship of the manor. The peasants live and die at the 
smiles or frowns of their lord, and, avaricious of the 
former, they fly to communicate to him any uncommon 
occurrence in the village ; and such they thought our 
arrival. The place, to be sure, is very remote, and 
the gentleman I accompanied, who was an English- 
man, rode in a superb manner. His coach and ser- 
vants were in a very elegant style. M. Conflans was 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 171 

informed of it. On that day it was my turn to cater, 
and the little country taverns in France are such, as 
oblige one to cook for himself, if he would eat. I was 
consequently very busy in the kitchen. The Otaheite 
marks on my hands were discovered ; the mistress 
and the maids asked our servants the history of so 
strange a sight. They were answered that I was a 
gentleman, who had been round the world. It was 
enough ; Conflans knew of it, and sent a billet, written 
in good English, to inquire if we would permit him the 
honor of seeing us at his mansion ; and, if he could be 
thus distinguished, he would come and wait on us 
thither himself. It was too late ; the Englishman 
and I had begun pell-mell upon a joint of roast. If 
Jove himself had sent a card by Blanchard inviting us, 
it would have been all one. We would honor our- 
selves with waiting on the Marquis de Conflans in the 
evening. We did so, and we could not but be pleased 
with the reception we met with ; it was in the true 
character of a French nobleman." 

" I took a walk to Paris this morning, and saw the 
Marquis de la Fayette. He is a good man, this same 
Marquis. I esteem him, and even love him, and so we 
all do, except some few, who worship him. I make 
these trips to Paris often ; sometimes to dine with 
this amiable Frenchman, and sometimes with our 
minister, who is a brother to me. I am too much 
alive to care and ambition to sit still. The unprofita- 
ble life I have led goads me ; I would willingly crowd 
as much merit as possible into the autumn and winter 
of it. Like Milton's hero in Paradise Lost, (who 
happens, by the way, to be the evil one himself,) it be- 
hoves me now to use both oar and sail to gain my port. 



172 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" The Paris papers of to day announce the discov- 
ery of some valuable gold mines in Montgomery 
county, Virginia, which I rejoice to hear ; but I hope 
they will not yield too much of it, for, as Poor Rich- 
ard says, ' too much of one thing is good for noth- 
ing.' All that I can say is, that, if too much of it is 
as bad as too little^ the Lord help you, as he has me, 
who, in spite of my poverty, am hearty and cheerful. 
I die with anxiety to be on the back of the American 
States, after having either come from or penetrated to 
the Pacific ocean. There is an extensive field for the 
acquirement of honest fame. A blush of generous 
regret sits on my cheek, when I hear of any discovery 
there, which I have had no part in, and particularly at 
this auspicious period. The American Revolution in- 
vites to a thorough discovery of the continent, and the 
honor of doing it would become a foreigner, but a 
native only can feel the genuine pleasure of the 
achievement. It was necessary, that a European 
should discover the existence of that continent, but, 
in the name of Amor Patrice^ let a native explore its 
resources and boundaries. It is my wish to be the 
man. I will not yet resign that wish, nor my preten- 
sions to that distinction. Farewell for the present. 
I have just received intelligence, which hurries me to 
London. What fate intends is always a secret ; forti- 
tude is the word. I leave this letter with my brother 
and my father, our minister. He will send it by the 
first conveyance. Adieu." 

The intelligence here alluded to, was from his ec- 
centric friend. Sir James Hall, who had returned to 
London. In six days Ledyard was with him in the 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 173 

British capital. He there found an English ship in 
complete readiness to sail for the Pacific ocean. Sir 
James Hall introduced him to the owners, who imme- 
diately offered him a free passage in the vessel, with 
the promise, that he should be set on shore at any 
place on the Northwest Coast, which he might choose. 
The merchants, no doubt, hoped to profit somewhat 
by his knowledge and experience, and he could not 
object to such an exchange, as these were his only 
possessions. One of Cook's officers was also going 
out in the same vessel. The day before he was to go 
on board, Ledyard wrote to Mr Jefferson in the follow- 
ing animated strain. 

" Sir James Hall presented me with twenty guineas 
pro hono publico. I bought two great dogs, an Indian 
pipe, and a hatchet. My want of time, as well as 
of money, will prevent my going any otherwise than 
indifferently equipped for such an enterprise ; but it is 
certain, that I shall be more in want before I see Vir- 
ginia. Why should I repine ? You know how much 
I owe the amiable la Fayette. Will you do me the 
honor to present my most grateful thanks to him ? If 
I find in my travels a mountain, as much elevated 
above other mountains, as he is above ordinary men, I 
will name it La Fayette. I beg the honor, also, of my 
compliments to Mr Short, who has been my friend, 
and who, like the good widow in Scripture, cast in 
not only his mite, but more than he was able, for my 
assistance." 

The equipment of two dogs, an Indian pipe, and a 
hatchet, it must be confessed, was very scanty for a 
journey across a continent, but they were selected 



174 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

with an eye to their uses. The dogs would be his 
companions, and assist him in taking wild animals for 
food, the pipe was an emblem of peace to the Indians, 
and the hatchet would serve many purposes of conve- 
nience and utility. His choice could not have fallen, 
perhaps, upon three more essential requisites for a 
solitary traveller among savages and wild beasts ; they 
would enable him to provide for his defence, and pro- 
cure a friendly reception, covering, and sustenance. 
All these were necessary, and must be the first objects 
of his care. 

His plan was fully arranged before entering the ship. 
He determined to land at Nootka Sound, where he 
had passed some time with Cook's expedition, and 
thence strike directly into the interior, and pursue his 
course as fortune should guide him to Virginia. By 
his calculation, the voyage and tour would take him 
about three years. He was much gratified with the 
reception he met in London, and particularly from Sir 
Joseph Banks, and some other gentlemen of science, 
who entered warmly into his designs. It was believ- 
ed, that his discoveries would not fail to add valuable 
improvements to geography and natural history ; and 
there was a romantic daring in the enterprise itself, 
well suited to gain the applause of ardent and liberal 
minds. Thus encouraged, his enthusiasm rose higher 
than ever, and his impatience to embark increased 
every moment. 

While in Paris the preceeding year, he had become 
acquainted with Colonel Smith, Secretary of Legation 
to Mr Adams, at that time American minister in Lon- 
don. Colonel Smith befriended him after his arrival 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 175 

in England, and, conceiving the journey he was about 
to undertake, as promising to be highly important to 
America, he wrote an account of it to Mr Jay, then 
Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the United States. 
After a few remarks relative to Ledyard's previous at- 
tempts and objects. Colonel Smith proceeds ; 

" In consequence of some allurements from an Eng- 
lish nobleman at Paris, he came here with the inten- 
tion of exploring the Northwest Coast and country ; 
and a vessel being on the point of sailing for that 
coast, after supplying himself with a few necessary 
articles for his voyage and march, he procured a pas- 
sage with a promise from the captain to land him on 
the western coast, from which he means to attempt 
a march through the Indian nations to the back parts 
of the Atlantic states, for the purpose of examining 
the country and its inhabitants ; and he expects to be 
able to make his way through, possessed of such infor- 
mation of the country and people, as will be of great 
advantage to ours. This remains to be proved. It is 
a daring, wild attempt. Determined to pursue the 
object, he embarked the last week, free and independ- 
ent of the world, pursuing his plan unembarrassed by 
contract or obligation. If he succeeds, and in the 
course of two or three years should visit our country 
by this amazing circuit, he may bring with him some 
interesting information. If he fails, and is never heard 
of more, which I think most probable, there is no harm 
done. He dies in an unknown country, and if he 
composes himself in his last moments with the reflec- 
tion, that his project was great, and the undertaking 
what few men are capable of, it will to his mind soothe 



176 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

the passage. He is perfectly calculated for the at- 
tempt, robust and healthy, and has an humense pas- 
sion to make discoveries, which will benefit society, 
and ensure him, agreeably to his own expression, ' a 
small degree of honest fame.' It may not be improper 
for your excellency to be acquainted with these cir- 
cumstances, and you are the best judge of the propriety 
of extending them further." 

The vessel went down the Thames from Deptford, 
and in a few days put to sea. Ledyard thought it the 
happiest moment of his life. But alas ! how uncertain 
are human expectations. Again was he doomed to 
suffer the agonies of a disappointment more severe 
than any that had preceded, because never before 
were his wishes so near their consummation. He 
looked upon the great obstacles as overcome, and re- 
garded himself as beyond the reach of fortune's 
caprice. This delusion soon vanished. The vessel 
was not out of sight of land, before it was brought 
back by an order from the government, and the voyage 
was finally broken off. He went back to London, as 
may be supposed, with a heavy heart. A month after- 
wards he wrote to Dr Ledyard, 

" I am still the slave of fortune, and the son of 
care. You will be surprised that I am yet in London, 
unless you will conclude with me, that, after what has 
happened, nothing can be surprising. I think my last 
letter informed you, that I was absolutely embarked 
on board a ship in the Thames, bound to the Northwest 
Coast of America. This will inform you, that I have 
disembarked from said ship, on account of her having 
been unfortunately seized by the customhouse, and 



JLIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 177 

eventually exchequered ; and that I am obliged in con- 
sequence to alter my route ; and, in short, everything, 
all my little baggage—shield, buckler, lance, dogs, 
squire, — and all gone. I only am left ; — left to what ? 
To some riddle, I'll warrant you ; or, at all events, I 
will not warrant anything else. My heart is too much 
troubled at this moment to write you as I ought to do. 
I will only add, that I am going in a few days to make 
the tour of the globe from London east on foot. I 
dare not write you more, nor introduce you to the real 
state of my affairs. Farewell. Fortitude ! Adieu." 
By this it will be seen, that his Siberian project was 
again revived ; and, in fact, a subscription to aid him 
in this object had already been commenced in London, 
under the patronage of Sir Joseph Banks, Dr Hunter, 
Sk James Hall, and Colonel Smith. " I fear my 
subscription will be small," he says, in a letter to Mr 
Jefferson ; "it adds to my anxiety to reach those 
dominions, where I shall not want money. I do not 
mean the dominions, that may be beyond death. 1 shall 
never wish to die while you and the Marquis are alive. 
I am goij^ig across Siberia, as I before intended." The 
amount collected by his friends is not mentioned, but 
it was such, as to induce him to set out upon the jour- 
ney; which, indeed, he probably would have done, 
had he obtained no money at all. He had lived too 
long by expedients to be stopped in his career, by an 
obstacle so trifling in his imagination as the want of 
money, and he was panting to get into a country, 
where its use was unknown, and where of course the 
want of it would not be felt. 
23 



178 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Ledyard proceeds to Hamburg . — Goes to Copenhagen, where he meets Major 
Langhorn, another American traveller. — Endeavors to persuade Langhorn to 
accompany him on his tour, but in vain. — Continues his route to Sweden, and 
is disappointed in not being able to cross the Gulf of Bothnia on the ice. — 
Journey round the Gulf into the Arctic Circle on foot, through Sweden, Lap- 
land, and Finland. — Maupertuis' description of the cold at Tornea. — Arrives 
at Petersburg, where he is befriended by Professor Pallas and others. — Pro- 
cures a passport from the Empress, through the agency of Count Segur, the 
French ambassador. — Sets out for Siberia, and travels by way of Moscow to 
Kazan, a town on the river Wolga. — Crosses the Ui-alian Mountains. — Some 
account of the city of Tobolsk. — Proceeds to Barnaoul and Tomsk. — ^Descrip- 
tions of the country and the inhabitants. — Character and condition of the 
exiles at Tomsk. — Fossil Bones, — Curious mounds and tombs of the ancient 
natives. — Arrives at Irkutsk. 

Leaving London in December, Ledyard went over 
to Hamburg, whence he immediately wrote to Colonel 
Smith. From the account of his finances contained 
in that letter, it would not seem that he was encum- 
bered, at his departure from England, with a heavy 
purse. He makes no complaint however ; on the 
contrary, he expresses only joy, that the journey, which 
he had so long desired, was actually begun. 

" I am here," he says, " with ten guineas exactly, 
and in perfect health. One of my dogs is no more. 
I lost him on my passage up the river Elbe to Ham- 
burg, in a snow storm. I was out in it forty hours in 
an open boat. My other faithful companion is under 
the table on which I write. I dined to day with 
Madam Parish, lady of the gentleman I mentioned to 
you. It is a Scotch house of the first commercial dis- 
tinction here. The Scotch have by nature a dignity 
of sentiment, that renders them accomplished. I 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 179 

could go to heaven with Madam Parish, but she had 
some people at her table, that I could not go to heaven 
with. I cannot submit to a haughty eccentricity of 
manners. My fate has sent me to the tavern, where 
Major Langhorn was three weeks. He is now at Co- 
penhagen, having left his baggage here to be sent on 
to him. By some mistake he has not received it, and 
has written to the master of the hotel on the subject. 
I shall write to him, and give him my address at 
Petersburg. I should wish to see him at all events, 
but to have him accompany me on my voyage would 
be a pleasure indeed." 

This Major Langhorn turns out to be an American 
officer, lately arrived in Hamburg from Newcastle, 
" a very good kind of a man, and an odd kind of a 
man," as the master of the hotel called him, one who 
had travelled much, and was fond of travelling in his 
own way. He had gone off to Copenhagen without 
his baggage, taking with him only one spare shirt, and 
very few other articles of clothing. It does not ap- 
pear, that Ledyard had ever been acquainted with 
Langhorn, or even seen him ; but he had heard such a 
description of him from Colonel Smith, and others, that 
in fancy he had become enamored of the originality and 
romantic turn of his character, and particularly of his 
passion for travelling. Carried away with this whim- 
sical prepossession, he had got it into his head, that 
Langhorn was the fittest man in the world to be the 
companion of his travels. An imaginary resemblance 
between their pursuits, condition, and the bent of their 
genius, created a sympathy, that was not to be resist- 
ed. He moreover suspected from hints, which he saw 



180 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

in Langhorn's letter, inquiring about his trunk, that 
he was in want of money. Here was another appeal 
to his generosity, and one which he could never suffer 
to be made in vain, when he had ten guineas in his 
pocket. " 1 will fly to him with my little all, and 
some clothes, and lay them at his feet. At this 
moment I may be useful to him ; he is my country- 
man, a gentleman, a traveller. He may go with me 
on my journey; if he does, I am blessed; if not, I 
shall merit his attention, and shall not be much out of 
my way to Petersburg." 

With this state of his feelings it is not wonderful, 
that we should next hear from him at Copenhagen. 
He hastened on to that city, and arrived there about 
the first of January, 1787, although it was taking him 
far aside from his direct course, and exposing him to 
all the fatigues and perils of a long, tedious winter 
passage through Sweden and Finland. He found 
Langhorn in a very awkward situation, without money 
or friends, and shut up in his room for the want of 
decent apparel to appear abroad in ; and, what was 
wors(», incurring the suspicions of those around him, 
that he was some vagabond, or desperate charac- 
ter, whose conduct had rendered it expedient for him 
to keep out of sight. Imagination only can paint the 
joy, that glowed in our traveller's countenance, when 
he saw the remains of his ten guineas slip from his 
fingers, to relieve the distresses of his new found 
friend. All that could now be said of them was, 
that their poverty was equalized; the Major could 
walk abroad, and his benefactor had not means to 
carry him beyond the bounds of the city. The road 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 181 

to Petersburg was many hundred miles long, through 
snows, and over ice, and presenting obstacles enough 
at that season to appal the stoutest heart, even with all 
the facilities for travelling, which gold could purchase. 
What then was the prospect for a moneyless pedes- 
trian ? 

These reflections were not suffered to intrude upon 
the pleasures of the moment. His money was gone, 
it was true, but a worthy man, and a traveller, had 
been made happier by it. How he should advance 
further was a thing to be thought of tomorrow, yet 
the doubt never came into his mind, that anything 
could stop him, when the time should arrive for him to 
move forward. Neither confidence nor fortitude ever 
forsook him. Two weeks were agreeably passed in 
the society of Langhorn, but no inducements could 
prevail on him to undertake the Siberian tour, much 
less to hazard the dangerous experiment of entrusting 
himself among the wild barbarians of North America. 
His humor was not of this sort, yet it was scarcely 
less peculiar, than if it had been. " I see in him," 
says Ledyard to Colonel Smith, " the soldier, the 
countryman, and the generous friend ; but he would 
hang me if he knew I had written a word about him ; 
and so I will say no more, than just to inform you, 
that he means to wander this winter through Norway, 
Swedish Lapland, and Sweden ; and in the spring to 
visit Petersburg. I asked to attend him through this 
route to Petersburg ; — ' No ; I esteem you, but I can 
travel in the way I do with no man on earth.' " After 
this avowal, the Major certainly merits the praise of 
frankness, if not of compliance ; and Ledyard must 



182 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

have possessed a larger share of practical philosophy, 
than falls to the lot of most men, to have been per- 
fectly reconciled to this abrupt declaration, after com- 
ing so far out of his way, and spending much time and 
all his money in search of a companion, who he fondly 
hoped would participate in his adventures. 

When this visit of friendship was closed, and the 
hour of departure approached, the necessity was press- 
ed upon him of looking about for money. He drew a 
small bill on Colonel Smith, and good fortune put in 
his way a merchant, who consented to accept it, and 
pay him the amount. " Thompson's goodness to 
me," he writes to Colonel Smith, " in accepting the 
bill on you, relying on my honor, has saved me from 
perdition, and will enable me to reach Petersburg." 
A small sum, to meet such an exigency, had been left 
in Colonel Smith's hands, but not to the full amount of 
the draft. Ledyard apologizes for the addition, and 
tells his friend, that he must put it to the account of 
charity, for his necessities only had compelled him to 
overdraw. The draft was kindly accepted by Colonel 
Smith, when it came to hand. Thus replenished, our 
traveller parted from the eccentric Major, crossed over 
into Sweden, and arrived in Stockholm towards the 
end of January.* 



* Langhorn pursued his route, as he had proposed, wandering over 
Sweden, Norway, and Lapland. The summer following he arrived in 
Tornea, at the proper season for witnessing the sight, which has drawn 
other travellers to that place. Tornea is but a few miles south of the 
Arctic Circle, and at the time of the summer solstice the sun appears 
above the horizon, as observed by Maupertuis, " for several days to- 
gether without setting." Travellers are then favored with what is 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 183 

The common mode of travelling from Stockholm to 
Petersburg in the summer season, is to cross the Gulf 
of Bothnia to Abo in Finland by water, touching at 
the isles of Aland on the passage. In winter the 
same route is pursued, when the sea is frozen so hard 
as to admit of sledges being drawn from one island to 
another on the ice. The greatest distance to be pass- 
ed over in this manner, without touching land, is 
about thirty miles. Under the most favorable circum- 
stances this passage is troublesome and dangerous. It 
is well described by Acerbi. " My astonishment was 
greatly increased," says he, " in proportion as we ad- 
vanced from our starting post. The sea, at first 
smooth and even, became more and more rough and 
unequal. It assumed, as we proceeded, an undulating 
appearance, resembling the waves by which it had 
been agitated. At length we met with masses of ice 



called " a view of the sun at midnight." Acerbi was there in 1799, and 
he mentions Langhorn. In the church of Jukasjeroi, a town at some 
distance to the north of Tornea, and the Ultima Thule of travellers in 
that direction, there is a book in which are written the names of visit- 
ers, with such remarks as their humor prompted them to indite. 
These are copied into Acerbi's Travels, amounting to only seven in 
number. The first record was by Regnard, on the 18th of August, 
1681. The following is a literal transcript of another. " Justice bids 
me record thy hospitable fame, and testify it by my name. W. Lang- 
horn, United States. July 23d, 1787." This was six months after 
Ledyard left him in Copenhagen. Acerbi says he v/as travelling on 
foot from Norway to Archangel. 

There is another record in the Album of Jukasjeroi, entered by a 
character noted for his singularities, and his passion for rambling, and 
who is still remembered in the United States, as well as in many other 
parts of the world, by the name of the Walking Steivart. " Non mihi 
fama, sed hospitalitatis et gratitudinis testimonium. S. Stewart, Civis 
Orbis. 30 Julii, 1787." 



184 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

heaped one upon the other, and some of them seem- 
ing as if they were suspended in the air, while others 
were raised in the form of pyramids. On the whole, 
they exhibited a picture of the wildest and most 
savage confusion, that surprised the eye by the novelty 
of its appearance. It was an immense chaos of icy 
ruins, presented to view under every possible form, 
and embellished by superb stalactites of a blue green 
color." Over this rough surface, and between the 
broken waves of ice, the passengers are drawn in 
sledges, muffled up in wolf skins and other furs. The 
chief danger consists in the sledges being repeatedly 
upset, and the horses sometimes taking fright, and 
running away like wild deer. Acerbi had a serious 
adventure of this sort, but he luckily escaped without 
harm, as he did from many other adventures, which 
awaited him in his travels to the North Cape. 

This is the method of crossing the Gulf of Bothnia 
in common seasons, but there is occasionally an open 
winter, when it is impassable, either by water or on 
the ice, for if the passage does not freeze entirely over, 
the water contains so much floating ice, that no vessel 
can sail through it. When this happens, the only way 
of going to Petersburg is around the Gulf, a distance 
of twelve hundred miles, over trackless snows, in 
regions thinly peopled, where the nights are long 
and the cold intense, and all this to gain no more than 
fifty miles. 

Such was unfortunately the condition of the ice, 
when Ledyard arrived at the usual place of crossing. 
It had not been frozen solid from the beginning of the 
winter, and no traveller could pass. Of all his dis- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. 185 

appointments, none had afflicted him more severely 
than this. The only alternative was, either to stay 
in Stockholm till the spring should open, or to go 
around the Gulf into Lapland, and seek his way from 
the Arctic Circle to Petersburg, through the whole ex- 
tent of Finland ; and in either case he foresaw, that 
he should arrive so late in Russia, that another season 
would be wasted in Siberia, before he could cross 
to the American continent. The single circumstance, 
therefore, of the passage to Abo being thus obstructed, 
was likely to keep him back a full year from the at- 
tainment of his grand object. But he did not delibe- 
rate long. He could not endure inactivity, and new 
difficulties nerved him with new strength to encounter 
and subdue them. He set out for Tornea in the heart 
of winter, afoot and alone, without money or friends, 
on a road almost unfrequented at that frightful season, 
and with the gloomy certainty resting on his mind, 
that he must travel northward six hundred miles, be- 
fore he could turn his steps towards a milder climate, 
and then six or seven hundred more in descending to 
Petersburg, on the other side of the Gulf. 

When Maupertuis and his companions were about 
leaving Stockholm, on their journey to Tornea, for the 
purpose of measuring a degree of the meridian under 
the Polar Circle, the King of Sweden told them, that 
" it was not without sensible concern, that he saw 
them pursue so desperate an undertaking ; " yet they 
were prepared with every possible convenience for 
travelling, and protection against the rigors of a north- 
ern winter. A better idea of the degree and effects 
of cold, at the head of the Gulf, cannot be formed, 
24 



186 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

perhaps, than from Maupertuis' description. " The 
town of Tornea, at our arrival on the thirtieth of 
December, had really a most frightful aspect. Its 
little houses were buried to the tops in snow, which, 
if there had been any daylight, must have effectually 
shut it out. But the snows continually falling, or 
ready to fall, for the most part hid the sun the few 
moments, that he might have showed himself at mid- 
day. In the month of January the cold was increased 
to that extremity, that Reaumur's mercurial ther- 
mometers, which in Paris, in the great frost of 1709, 
it was thought strange to see fall to fourteen degrees 
below the freezing point, were now down to thirty- 
seven. The spirit of wine in the others was frozen. 
If we opened the door of a warm room, the external 
air instantly converted all the air in it into snow, 
whirling it round in white vortexes. If we Avent 
abroad, w^e felt as if the air were tearing our breasts in 
pieces. And the cracking of the wood whereof the 
houses are built, as if the violence of the cold split it, 
continually alarmed us with an approaching increase 
of cold. The solitude of the streets was no less, than 
if the inhabitants had been all dead ; and in this 
country you may often see people that have been 
maimed, and had an arm or a leg frozen off. The 
cold, which is always very great, increases sometimes 
by such violent and sudden fits, as are almost infallibly 
fatal to those, that happen to be exposed to it. Some- 
times there arise sudden tempests of snow, that are 
still more dangerous. The winds seem to blow from 
all quarters at once, and drive about the snow with 
such furv, that in a moment all the roads are lost. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 187 

Unhappy he, who is seized by such a storm in the 
fields. His acquaintance with the country, or the 
marks he may have taken by the trees, cannot avail 
him. He is blinded by the snow, and lost if he stirs 
but a step."* 

These were the scenes, that awaited our pedestrian 
in his winter excursion to the Polar Circle. How far 
they were realized by him must be now left to conjec- 
ture. No part of his journal during this tour has been 
preserved, nor is it known what course he took from 
Tornea to Petersburg. The common route is along 
the border of the Gulf to Abo, but in winter the road 
is much obstructed by ice, and is extremely bad. 
Linnaeus passed it in September, when returning from 
his scientific tour to Lapland, and he estimates the 
distance from Tornea to Abo at upwards of six hun- 
dred English miles. From a remark in Ledyard's 
letter to Mr Jefferson, which will be quoted below, it 
would seem, that he took a different direction, and 
passed farther into the interior of Russian Finland. 
This route, as he intimates, must have been wholly 
unfrequented by travellers, although the distance must 
be shorter, and at that season perhaps the difficulties 
to be encountered were not greater, than down the 
Gulf. 

Be this as it may, he reached Petersburg before the 
twentieth of March, that is, within seven weeks of 
the time of leaving Stockholm, making the average 
distance travelled about two hundred miles a week. 



* See Maupertuis' Discourse before the Royal Academy of Sciences 
in Paris. November 13th, 1737. 



188 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

It is evident, therefore, that he met with no obstacles, 
which his resolution did not speedily overcome. His 
letter to Mr Jefferson, dated Petersburg, March 19th, 
1787, will acquaint us with the state of his feelings, 
and his prospects, at this stage of his travels. 

" It will be one of the remaining pleasures of my 
life, to thank you for the many instances of your 
friendship, and, wherever I am, to pursue you with 
the tale of my gratitude. If Mr Barclay should be 
at Paris, let him rank with you as my next friend. I 
hardly know how to estimate the goodness of the 
Marquis de la Fayette to me, but I think a French 
nobleman, of the first character in his country, never 
did more to serve an obscure citizen of another, than 
he has done for me ; and I am sure, that it is impossi- 
ble, without some kind of soul made expressly for the 
purpose, that an obscure citizen in such a situation can 
be more grateful than I am. May he be told so, with 
my compliments to his lady. 

" I cannot tell you by what means I came to Peters- 
burg, and hardly know by what means I shall quit it, 
in the further prosecution of my tour round the 
world by land. If I have any merit in the affair, it is 
perseverance, for most severely have I been buffeted ; 
and yet still am even more obstinate than before ; and 
fate, as obstinate, continues her assaults. How the 
matter will terminate I know not. The most proba- 
ble conjecture is, that 1 shall succeed, and be bufTeted 
around the world, as I have hitherto been from Eng- 
land through Denmark, through Sweden, Swedish 
Lapland, Swedish Finland, and the most unfrequented 
parts of Russian Finland, to this aurora borealis of a 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 189 

city. I cannot give you a history of myself since I 
saw you, or since I wrote you last ; however abridged, 
it would be too long. Upon the whole, mankind 
have used me well ; and though I have as yet reached 
only the first stage of my journey, I feel myself much 
indebted for that urbanity, which I always thought 
more general, than many think it to be ; and were it 
not for the mischievous laws and bad examples of 
some governments I have passed through, I am per- 
suaded I should be able to give you a still better ac- 
count of our fellow creatures. But I am hastening to 
countries, where goodness, if natural to the human 
heart, will appear independent of example, and furnish 
an illustration of the character of man, not unworthy 
of him, who wrote the Declaration of Independence. 
I did not hear of the death of M. de Vergennes until 
I arrived here. Permit me to express my regret at 
the loss of so great and so good a man. Permit me, 
also, to congratulate you, as the minister of my coun- 
try, on account of the additional commercial privileges 
granted by France to America, and to express my 
ardent wishes, that the friendly spirit, which dictated 
them, may last for ever. I was extremely pleased at 
reading the account, and to heighten the satisfaction, 
I found the name of La Fayette there. 

"An equipment is now on foot here for the sea of 
Kamtschatka, and it is first to visit the Northwest 
Coast of America. It is to consist of four ships. 
This, and the expedition that went from here twelve 
months since by land for Kamtschatka, are to cooper- 
ate in a design of some sort in the Northern Pacific 
Ocean ; the Lord knows what, nor does it matter 



190 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

what with me, nor indeed with yon, nor any other 
minister, nor any potentate, south of fifty degrees of 
latitude. I can only say, that you are in no danger of 
having the luxurious repose of your charming climates 
disturbed bj^ a second incursion of either Goth, Van- 
dal, Hun, or Scythian. 

" I dined today with Professor Pallas. He is an 
accomplished man, and my friend, and has travelled 
throughout European and Asiatic Russia. I find the 
little French I have, of infinite service to me. I 
could not do without it. It is a most extraordinary 
language. 1 believe wolves, rocks, woods, and snow 
understand it, for I have addressed them all in it, and 
they have all been very complaisant to me. We had 
a Scythian at table, who belongs to the Royal Society 
of Physicians here. The moment he knew me and 
my designs, he became my friend ; and it will be by 
his generous assistance, joined with that of Professor 
Pallas, that I shall be able to procure a Royal Pass- 
port, without which I cannot stir. This must be 
done through an application to the French minister, 
there being no American minister here ; and to his 
secretary I shall apply with Dr Pallas tomorrow, and 
shall take the liberty to make use of your name, and 
that of the Marquis de la Fayette, as to my character. 
As all my letters of recommendation were English, 
and as I have hitherto been used by the English with 
the greatest kindness and respect, I first applied to 
the British minister, but without success. The apolo- 
gy was, that the present political condition, between 
Russia and England, would make it disagreeable for 
the British minister to ask any favor. The secretary 



LIFE OP JOHN LEDYARD. 191 

of the French embassy will despatch my letter, and 
one of his accompanying it, to the Count Segur to- 
morrow morning. I will endeavor to write you again 
before I leave Petersburg, and give you some further 
accounts of myself. Meantime, I wish you health. 
I have written a short letter to the Marquis. Adieu.'' 

It will be remembered, that at this time the Em- 
press was absent on her famous jaunt to Kerson and 
the Krimea. She had left Petersburg in January, 
accompanied by Prince Potemkin, and many others of 
the courtiers, and of the Russian nobility. The Aus- 
trian and French ambassadors were also in her train. 
She passed through Smolensk, and was now at Kief, 
where she remained amidst a brilliant assemblage of 
nobles from Poland and her Russian territories, till 
the spring was so far advanced, that she could proceed 
by water down the Dnieper, in the magnificent gallies 
prepared for the purpose. 

While the Empress and her retinue were at Kief, a 
round of splendid entertainments, ceremonies, and 
visits from eminent personages, occupied her time, and 
absorbed her thoughts, in addition to the great politi- 
cal projects, which she is said to have been meditating 
in regard to the conquest of Turkey. Had the 
French ambassador found an opportunity, therefore, 
amidst these scenes of gaiety and bustle, to present a 
petition to the Empress from an unknown individual, 
for a passport to travel through her dominions, it could 
not be thought strange, that she should have neglected 
to attend to it with the promptness, which more im- 
portant affairs might require. Weeks passed away, 
and no answer was returned. Ledyard's patience 



192 LFFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

was severely tried by this delay, and he began to talk 
of going forward without any passport. On the fif- 
teenth of May, after waiting nearly two months at 
Petersburg, he writes to Colonel Smith, " My heart is 
oppressed ; my designs are generous ; why is my fate 
otherwise ? The Count Segur has not yet sent me 
tny passport. But this shall not stop me ; I shall 
surmount all things, and at least deserve success." 
About this time he became acquainted with a Russian 
ofBcer, who belonged to the family of the Grand 
Duke, and who took a lively interest in his concerns, 
and proffered his services. Ledyard says he was not 
only " polite and friendly, but a iliinJdng Russian.-' 
By the kind assistance of this gentleman he obtained 
his passport in fifteen days, and was prepared for his 
departure. 

It was fortunate, that just at this time Mr William 
Brown, a Scotch physician, was going to the province 
of Kolyvan, in the employment of the Empress. 
Ledyard joined him, and thus had a companion on his 
tour for more than three thousand miles. From this 
arrangement he enjoyed an important advantage, for 
Brown travelled at the expense of the government, 
and as Ledyard went with him by permission of the 
proper authority, his travelling charges w'ere probably- 
defrayed in part at least from the public funds^ 
And, indeed, without this aid, it would have been 
impossible for him to move a step, for his own re- 
sources were completely exhausted. On his arrival 
in Petersburg his necessities were extreme, as his 
money was gone, and he was almost destitute of 
clothes. In this extremity he drew a bill for twenty 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 193 

guineas on Sir Joseph Banks, which he found some 
friend willing to accept, although he confessed, that 
Sir Joseph had not authorized him to draw, and that 
the payment of the bill would depend on his generosi- 
ty. It was immediately paid when presented in Lon- 
don, much to the honor of that munificent patron of 
science and enterprise. It is said, that a quantity 
of stores was sent under the care of Dr Brown, to be 
forwarded to Mr Billings at Yakutsk, who was em- 
ployed in exploring those remote regions of Siberia 
and Kamtschatka, in the service of the Empress. 

The party left Petersburg on the first of June, and 
in six days arrived at Moscow. During the last day's 
ride they overtook the Grand Duke and his retinue, 
who were going to Moscow to meet the Empress on 
her return from her pompous journey to the Krimea. 
The two travellers remained but one day in Moscow. 
They hired a person to go with them to Kazan, a dis- 
tance of five hundred and fifty miles, and drive their 
kibitka with three horses. " Kibitka travelling," 
says Ledyard in his journal, " is the remains of cara- 
van travelling ; it is your only home ; it is like a ship 
at sea." In this vehicle they were hurried along with 
considerable speed towards Kazan, through Vladimir, 
Nishnei Novogorod, and other towns. Kazan stands 
on the right bank of the majestic Wolga, and is the 
capital of a province of the same name. It is ranked 
among the first cities in the empire, containing a uni- 
versity, churches, convents, and other public buildings, 
some of which are magnificent, and finished with 
much architectural taste and elegance. Immense 
quantities of grain are produced in this province, and 
25 



194 LIFE OF JOHJH LED YARD. 

also flax and leather for exportation. The soil is well 
cultivated, but low and unhealthy, and the inhabitants 
are a mixed population of Russians and Tartars. 

They staid a week at Kazan, and then commenced 
their journey to Tobolsk, where they arrived on the 
eleventh of July, having crossed the Ural mountains, 
and passed the frontiers of Europe and Asia. The 
face of the country had hitherto been level, with 
hardly an eminence springing from the great plain, 
which spreads over the vast territory from Moscow 
to Tobolsk. The ascent of the Ural mountains was 
so gradual, as scarcely to form an exception to this 
general remark, and nothing could be more monoto- 
nous and dreary, than the interminable wastes, over 
which their route had led them since leaving Kazan, 
with here and there a miserable village, and mipro- 
ductive culture of the soil. " The wretched appear- 
ance of the inhabitants," says our jom'nalist, " is such 
as may generally be observed in a greater or less de- 
gree in those places, which are so unhappy as to be 
the frontiers between nations ; like step-children are 
they." This is especially the condition of the people 
throughout the whole extent of the China frontiers, 
that border on Russia. It is the policy of the govern- 
ment to preserve this belt of desolation, as a barrier 
against the too easy access of foreigners, and as a 
means of preventing contraband trade. 

Tobolsk is a city of considerable interest, having 
been once the capital of all Siberia, and in early times 
the scene of a great battle between the renowned 
hero Yermak, and the Tartar prince, Koutchum Khan, 
in which the former was victorious. The citv stands 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 195 

at the junction of two large rivers, the Tobol and 
Irtish, which there unite and flow on together, till 
their waters are mingled with the Obe, and thence 
conveyed to the Northern Ocean. It consists of the 
upper and lower town, the latter situate on the margin 
of the river, and the former on a commanding emi- 
nence, which overlooks the lower town and much of 
the adjacent country. Captain Cochrane, who visited 
his place a few years ago, was greatly pleased with its 
natural advantages and scenery, and the condition and 
comforts of the people. The town is well laid out into 
streets^ contains handsome churches and other edifi- 
ces, a well regulated market, and provisions of all 
kinds in abundance, and exceedingly cheap. He was 
not less charmed with the society, for although To- 
bolsk is the residence of exiles, they are such as have 
been sent to Siberia for political reasons, and not male- 
factors, these latter being accommodated with a resi- 
dence and employment much farther in the interior 
towards Kamtschatka. These political exiles are com- 
monly persons of some culture and intelligence, for, 
as this author justly remarks, no government banishes 
fools; and the social circles of the better sort indicate 
a refinement and happiness, which might be envied in 
more civilized parts of the globe. So much was this 
traveller pleased with the wild and beautiful scenery 
on the banks of the Irtish, that he followed up the 
stream to the borders of China, enraptured at every 
step ; nor was he satisfied, till he had contemplated 
by moonlight the deep solitudes and lofty granite 
mountains, that constitute the bulwark of this north- 
ern boundary of the Celestial Empire. 



196 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

But Captain Cochrane was an amateur traveller, 
wandering for amusement, and seeking odd adventures 
in the most promising theatre for them. Ledyard, on 
the contrary, was impelled forward by a single motive, 
and he would gladly have annihilated space and time, 
if he could have set his foot the next moment on the 
American Continent. He did not traverse the wild 
wastes of Siberia to make discoveries, gaze at moun- 
tains, trace rivers to their sources, nor even to examine 
the economy of society and the condition of the peo- 
ple. He had a soul to admire whatever was grand or 
beautiful in nature, and to be strongly affected with 
the various states of human existence, as his observa- 
tions abundantly prove ; but he suffered these to make 
an incidental claim only on his attention, keeping 
them subordinate to his great design and absorbing 
purpose. Hence he stopped no longer in any place, 
than was necessary to prepare for a new departure. 
Three days he and his companion stayed at Tobolsk, 
and then continued their journey to Barnaoul, the 
capital of the province of Kolyvan. At this place he 
was to leave Dr Brown and proceed alone. For this 
gentleman he had contracted a sincere esteem, and 
was prevailed upon to remain in Barnaoul a week, out 
of regard to the kindness and in compliance with the 
solicitation of his friend. 

In many respects Barnaoul is one of the most agree- 
able places of residence in Siberia. The province, of 
which it is the capital, is a rich mining district, and 
this] brings together in the town persons of science 
and respectability, who are employed as public officers 
to superintend the working of the mines. The sur- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 197 

rounding country, moreover, is well suited to agricul- 
ture, abounding in good lands for pasture and grain, 
supporting vast herds of cattle, and producing vegeta- 
bles in great profusion. In consequence of these 
bounties of nature, there is an overflowing and cheap 
market, an absence of want, and much positive happi- 
ness among the people. 

Ledyard was lodged at Barnaoul in the house of 
the treasurer, by whom he was treated with great hos- 
pitality. He dined twice with the governor, and also 
with two old discharged officers of the array, who, at 
their own request, had quitted the service, and become 
judges and justices of the law. He was shown the 
armorial bearings of forty two provinces in the empire. 
The governor told him, that the salt, produced by the 
salt lakes in the province of Kolyvan, yielded some- 
what more to the revenue than the mines, and also 
that the aggregate amount of revenue from that pro- 
vince was greater than from any other. In respect to 
gold and silver, this is no doubt the case at the present 
day, but in regard to the salt it is uncertain. There 
are said to be salt lakes in Siberia, so much saturated 
with saline matter, that the salt crystalizes of its 
own accord, and adheres in this state to pieces of 
wood and other substances put into the water, 

Kolyvan is near the middle point between Peters- 
burg and Okotsk, it being somewhat more than three 
thousand miles in opposite directions to each of those 
places.* Barnaoul stands on the bank of the river 



* In his Journal, Ledyard enters the following distances, which he 
says were taken from a Russian Almanac In the second column I 



198 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Obe, which is a broad and noble stream where it 
passes the town. It is in the fifty third degree of north 
latitude, and in the last week of July the mornings 
were exceedingly hot, the sky cloudless and serene, 
and the atmosphere perfectly calm. In the afternoon 
a gentle breeze would spring up, increase by degrees 
till evemng, and contmue through the night. Rams 
are not frequent in Kolyvan. 

The following extract is from that part of the jour- 
nal, which was written at Barnaoul, and contains re- 
marks on what came under the writer's notice during 
his journey to that place. 

" The face of the country from Petersburg to Koly- 
van is one continued plain. The soil before arriving 
at Kazan is very well cultivated ; afterwards cultiva- 
tion gradually ceases. On the route to Kazan we saw 
large mounds of earth, often of twenty, thirty, and 
forty feet elevation, which I conjectured, and on in- 
quiry found, to be ancient sepulchres. There is an 
analogy between these and our own graves, and the 
Egyptian pyramids ; and an exact resemblance between 
them, and those piles supposed to be of monumental 
earth, which are found among some of the tribes of 
North America. We first saw Tartars before our ar- 



have reduced the versts to English miles. Three versts are equal to 
two miles. 

Versts. Miles. 

From Petersburg to Barnaoul 4539 . . . 3026 

" Barnaoul to Irkutsk 1732 ... 3155 

« Irkutsk to Yakutsk 2266 . . . 1510 

« Yakutsk to Okotsk 952 ... 635 

" Okotsk to Awateka in Kamtschatka . . 1065 . . . 710 

Whole distance from Petersburg to Kamtschatka 10554 . . . 7036 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 199 

rival at Kazan ; and also a woman with her nails 
painted red, like the Cochin Chinese. 

" Notwithstanding the modern introduction of linen 
into Russia, the garments of the peasantry still retain 
not only the form, but the manner of ornamenting 
them, which was practised when they wore skins. 
This resembles the Tartar mode of ornamenting, and 
is but a modification of ilm wampum ornament, which 
is still discernible westward from Russia to Denmark, 
among the Finlanders, Laplanders, and Swedes. The 
nice gradation by which I pass from civilization to 
incivilization appears in everything ; in manners, dress, 
language ; and particularly in that remarkable and 
important circumstance, color, which I am now fully 
convinced originates from natural causes, and is the 
effect of external and local circumstances. I think the 
same oi feature. I see here the large mouth, the thick 
lip, the broad flat nose, as well as in Africa. I see also 
in the same village as great a difference of complexion ; 
from the fair hair, fair skin, and white eyes, to the 
olive, the black jetty hair and eyes ; and these all of the 
same language, same dress, and, I suppose, same tribe. 
I have frequently observed in Russian villages, obscure 
and dirty, mean and poor, that the women of the pea- 
santry paint their faces, both red and white. I have 
had occasion from this and other circumstances to sup- 
pose, that the Russians are a people, who have been 
early attached to luxury. They are everywhere fond 
of eclat. ' Sir,' said a Russian officer to me in Peters- 
burg, 'we pay no attention to anything but eclat.'' 
The contour of their manners is Asiatic, and not Eu- 
ropean. The Tartars are universally neater than the 



200 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Russians, particularly in their houses. The Tartar, 
however situated, is a voluptuary ; and it 4S an origi- 
nal and striking trait in their character, from the 
Grand Seignior, to him who pitches his tent on the 
wild frontiers of Russia and China, that they are more 
addicted to real sensual pleasure, than any other peo- 
ple. The Emperor of Germany, the Kings of Eng- 
land and France, have pursuits that give an entirely 
different turn to their enjoyments ; and so have their 
respective subjects. Would a Tartar live on Vive le 
Roi ? Would he spend ten years in constructing a 
watch ? or twenty in forming a telescope ? 

" In the United States of America, as in Russia, 
we have made an effort to convert our Tartars to 
think and act like us ; but to what effect ? Among 
us, Sampson Occum was pushed the farthest within 
the pale of civilization, but just as the sanguine 
divine, who brought him there, was forming the 
highest expectations, he fled and sought his own ely- 
sium in the bosom of his native forests. In Russia 
they have had none so distinguished ; here they are 
commonly footmen, or lackeys of some other kind. 
The Marquis de la Fayette had a young American 
Tartar, of the Onandago tribe, who came to see him, 
and the Marquis, at much expense, equipped him in 
rich Indian dresses. After staying some time, he did 
as Occum did. When I was at school at Mount Ida 
[Dartmouth College], many Indians were there, most 
of whom gave some promise of being civilized, and 
some were sent forth to preach ; but as far as I observ- 
ed myself, and have been since informed, they all 
returned to the home and customs of their fathers, and 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 201 

followed the inclinations, which nature had so deeply 
enstamped on their character." 

To these remarks is here added part of a letter, 
written to Mr Jefferson from Barnaoul, dated on the 
twentyninth of July, 1787. 

<' How I have come thus far, and liow I am to go 
still farther, is an enigma that I must disclose to you 
on some happier occasion. I shall never be able, 
without seeing you in person, and perhaps not then, to 
inform you how universally and circumstantially the 
Tartars resemble the Aborigines of America. They 
are the same people ; the most ancient and the most 
numerous of any other ; and had not a saiall sea 
divided them, they would all have been still known by 
the same name. The cloak of civilization sets as ill 
upon them, as upon our American Tartars. They 
have been a long time Tartars, and it will be a long 
time before they will be any other kind of people. 

'^' I shall send this letter to Petersburg, to the care of 
Professor Pallas. He will transmit it to you, together 
with one for the Marquis, in the mail of the Count 
Segur. My health is perfectly good; but notwith- 
standing the vigor of my body, my mind keeps the 
start of me, and I anticipate my future fate with the 
most lively ardor. Pity it is, that in such a career one 
should be subjected, like a horse, to the beggarly im- 
pediments of sleep and hunger. 

" The banks of the large rivers in this country 
everywhere abound with something curious in the fos- 
sil world. I have found the leg-bone of a very large 
animal on the b^mks of the Obe, and have sent it to 
Dr Pallas, requesting him to render me an account of 
26 



202 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

it hereafter. It is either an elephant's, or rhinoceros' 
bone. The latter animal has been in this country. 
There is a complete head of one in a state of high 
preservation at Petersburg. I am a curiosity here 
myself. Those who have heard of America flock 
round to see me. Unfortunately the marks on my 
hands * procure me and my countrymen the appellation 
of wild men. Among the better sort we are some- 
w hat more known. The governor and his family have 
got a peep at the history of our existence, through the 
medium of an antiquated pamphlet of some kind. We 
have, however, two stars, that shine even in the galaxy 
of Barnaoul, and the healths of Dr Franklin and of 
General Washington have been drunk, in compliment 
to me, at the governor's table. I am treated with the 
greatest hospitality here. Hitherto I have fared com- 
fortably when I could make a port anywhere, but when 
totally in the country I have been a little incommoded. 
Hospitality, however, I have found as universal as the 
face of man. When you read this, perhaps two months 
before you do, if I do well, I shall be at Okotsk, 
where I will do myself the honor to trouble you 
again, and if possible will write more at large. My 
compliments wait on all my Parisian friends." 

After spending a week very agreeably in Barnaoul, 
he made preparations for recommencing his journey. 
From this place to Irkutsk it was arranged, that he 
should travel post with the courier, who had charge of 
the mail. All things being in readiness, he writes, 
" I waited on the governor with my passport ; he was 

* The tattoo marks made on his hands at Otaheite. 



XIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 203 

well pleased with it ; gave me a corporal to conduct 
the affairs of the mail ; said I had nothing to do but 
sit in the kibitka, and mustered up French enough to 
say, Monsieur, je vous souhaite im bon voyage. I took 
an affectionate farewell of the worthy Dr Brown, and 
left Barnaoul." The next stopping-place on the route 
was Tomsk, distant three hundred miles, which were 
passed over in two days and three nights. The river 
Tom, which flows near this town, is as large as the 
Irtish, where it is crossed by the main road above 
Tobolsk, and was the first river met with by our trav- 
eller since leaving Petersburg, which had either a 
gravelly bottom or shore. On its banks were found 
little mounds of earth, which were ascertained to have 
been the habitations of the natives, who dwelt there 
before the conquest of the country by the Russians.* 



* In Bell's Journey from Petersburg to Pekin, with the Russian em- 
bassy, in the year 1720, the author gives a curious account of the 
mounds in the regions about Tomsk. He considers them the tombs of 
ancient heroes, who fell in battle. " Many persons go from Tomsk,'' 
he observes, " and other parts every summer to tliese graves, which 
they dig up, and find among the ashes of the dead considerable quan- 
ties of gold, silver, brass, and some precious stones ; but particularly' 
hilts of swords and armour. They find, also, ornaments of saddles and 
bridles, and other trappings for horses ; and even the bones of horses, 
and sometimes those of elephants. Whence it appears, that when any 
general or person of distinction was interred, all his arms, his favorite 
horse, and servant, were buried with him in the same grave. This 
custom prevails to this day among the Kalmuks and other Tar- 
tars, and seems to be of great antiquity. It appears from the number 
of graves, that many thousands must have fallen on these plains, for 
the people have continued to dig for such treasure many years, and 
still find it unexhausted. They are sometimes, indeed, interrupted and 
robbed of all their booty by parties of the Kalmuks, who abhor the 
disturbing the ashes of the dead." Vol. I. p. 253. 



204 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

The nights, he remarked, were very cold, more so 
than he had known them in any country, where it was 
at the same time so hot by day. All the way from 
Barnaoul, and particularly in its neighborhood, were 
perceived the ruinous effects of the violent winds, that 
frequently produce great devastation in those parts of 
Siberia. Forest trees and fields of grain were indis- 
criminately blown down and destroyed. The hospi- 
tality of the inhabitants, however, was unabated. 
They could rarely be prevailed upon to take anything 
for "provisions or accommodation. On one occasion, 
for as much barley soup, onions, quass, bread, and 
milk, as made a hearty meal for the traveller and his 
corporal, the good woman, who furnished them, con- 
sented to receive one kopeek, and nothing more.* 

They were detained two or three days at Tomsk, 
waiting for a mail, that was coming by another route 
from Tobolsk ; but the commandant was affable and 
generous, and did not allow the time to pass heavily. 
He was somewhat of a singularity, being a French- 
man, born in Paris, now seventythree years old, having 
resided twentyfive years in Siberia, and more than 
thirty in Russia. He spoke his native language im- 
perfectly, and wrote it still worse. His favorite topic 
was the dignity of his birth, and the high rank of his 
family. But Ledyard wished to know more about 
Siberia at that moment, than of the genealogy or rank 
of the families in France, and he ventured to ask the 



* The value of the kopeek varies at different times. Ledyard states 
it to have been about one tenth of an English penny, when he was in 
Siberia. In Dr Clarke's Travels it is put down as equal to an English 
halfpenny. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 205 

old man if the town, or its environs, afforded anything 
valuable or curious in natural history. His answer 
was, that there were thieves, rogues, liars, and villains 
of every description. The conversation was pushed 
no further in the way of philosophical inquiry, for it 
was evident the Frenchman's thoughts had run very 
little in that channel. 

There was truth in his remark, although uttered 
somewhat out of place. Tomsk had long been the 
rendezvous of the worst class of exiles, w4io had been 
banished for their crimes, and could not be expected 
to exercise a very salutary influence on society, or to 
become pattern members of it themselves. Poverty 
and wretchedness, the accompaniments of vice, formed 
here some of the prominent objects in the foreground 
of the picture, and beggars daily thronged the streets, 
as in the most populous regions of the civilized world. 
The charity and kind feelings of the better sort of 
inhabitants, however, afforded a pleasing contrast to 
this debasement and suffering. Ledyard observes, 
that the family with whom he lodged, were accustom- 
ed every morning to lay aside in the window ten or 
twelve farthing pieces for the charitable purposes of 
the day. Considering the extraordinary cheapness of 
food, this would afford relief to many persons. The 
beggars began their rounds at an early hour, and went 
regularly from house to house, and were very rarely 
sent away without something. Those, who did not 
give money, gave bread. Some of the beggars were 
in irons. The people asked no questions, but appeared 
to give cheerfully and without grudging. The de- 
mand was uniformly made, pour Vainour de Dieu, 



206 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

"for which," sajs the journalist, " one may have more 
in this country, than in any other I have seen." 

In ten days from the time of leaving Tomsk, the 
traveller and his corporal were safely arrived in Ir- 
kutsk, over a road, of which he speaks in no terms of 
commendation. The river Yenissey was crossed at 
the town of Krasnojarsk, where the commandant 
pressed him to stop long enough to dine, and celebrat- 
ed the event of a stranger's arrival, with such free 
potations as to become intoxicated. From Tomsk to 
Yenissey the country exhibited rather an agreeable 
aspect, and marks of cultivation. Ledyard observes, 
that in this region he " first finds the real craggy, 
peaked hill, or mountain," and from Krasnojarsk to 
Irkutsk was the first stony road, which he had passed 
over in the Russian dominions. The streets of To- 
bolsk, and some of the other towns on his route, were 
paved with wood. 

" Passing on east from the Yenissey to Irkutsk the 
country is thinly peopled. A very few, and those 
miserable houses, are to be seen on the road, and none 
at all at a distance from it. The country is hilly, 
rough, mountainous, and covered with thick for- 
ests. The rivers here also have all rocky beds, and 
are rapid in the degree of three to five miles an hour. 
The autumnal rains are begun, and they have set 
in severely. I am now in Irkutsk, and have stayed in 
my quarters all day to take a little rest, after a very 
fatiguing journey, rendered so by sundry very disagree- 
able circumstances ; going with the courier, and driv- 
ing with wild Tartar horses, at a most rapid rate, over 
a wild and ragged country; breaking and upsetting 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 207 

kibitkas ; beswarmed with musquetoes ; all the waj 
hard rains ; and when I arrived at Irkutsk I was, and 
had been for the last fortjeight hours, wet through 
and through, and covered with one complete mass of 
mud." 



208 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Residence at Irkutsk. — Miscellaneous remarks on the inhabitants, and the 
productions of the country. — Accounts of the Tartars. — Unsuccessful attempts 
to civilize them. — Fur trade on the American coast. — Visit to the Lake Bai- 
kal. — Further remarks on the character and manners of the Kalmuks and 
other Tartars. — Leaves Irkutsk for the river Lena. — Scenery around the 
Baikal. — Rivers flowing into it. — Extraordinary depth of its waters. — Tliey 
are fresh, but contain seals, and fish, peculiar to the ocean. — Estimate of the 
number of rivers in Siberia, and of the quantity of water they pour into the 
Frozen Ocean. — Ledyard proceeds down the Lena in a bateau. — Romantic 
sceneiy along the margin of the river. — Hospitality of the inhabitants. — Ends 
his voyage at Yakutsk. 

Ledyard staid in Irkutsk about ten days, and his 
observations and general reflections during that time 
may be best understood by extracts from his journal, 
as they were written on the spot. They are rather in 
the nature of hints and first thoughts, than of a regu- 
lar narrative, but they will show his inquisitive turn 
of mind, and his eagerness for acquiring such knowl- 
edge, as accorded with the general objects of his 
travels. 

" August 16th. I have not been out this morning, 
but I shrewdly suspect by what I see from my poor 
talc window, that I shall even here find the fashiona- 
ble follies, the ridiculous extravagance, and ruinous 
eclat of Petersburg. — I have been out, and ray suspi- 
cions were well founded. Dined with a brigadier, a 
colonel, and a major, a little out of town ; they are Ger- 
mans. Had at the table a French exile, who had been 
an adjutant. Scarcely a day passes but an exile of some 
sort arrives. Most of the inhabitants of this remote 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 209 

part of Siberia are convicts. The country here was 
formerly inhabited by the Mongul or Kalmuk Tartars, 
who are, I conclude, the same people. Find no 
account of the Calumet. The French exile had been 
at Quebec, and thinks the Tartars here much inferior 
to the American Indians, both in their understanding 
and persons. I observe the Tongusians have not the 
Mongul or Kalmuk faces, but moderately long, and 
considerably like the European face. These Tongu- 
sians form the second class of Tartars, so obviously 
distinguishable by their features from other Tartars, 
and from Europeans. What I call the third class are 
the light eyed and fair complexioned Tartars, which 
class I believe includes the Cossacs. The Tchuk- 
tchi are the only northern Tartars, that remain unsub- 
jected to the government. 

" The town of Irkutsk is the residence of the Gov- 
ernor-General, Jacobi, and of a military commander, 
and has in it two battalions of infantry. It has two 
thousand poor log houses, and ten churches. Jacobi's 
authority extends from here to the Pacific Ocean, an 
immense territory. I waited this morning on the 
director of the bank, Mr Karamyscheff, who was a 
pupil of Linnaeus. He is very assiduous to oblige me 
in everything, and sent for three Kalmuks in the 
dress of their country. Nothing particularly curious 
about them, but their pipes, which are coarsely 
made of copper by themselves ; the form altogether 
Chinese. Karamyscheff informs me, that the Monguls 
and Kalmuks are the same people. From his house I 
went with the Conseiller cVEtat, who introduced me 
to Jacobi, the Governor. Fie is an old, venerable man, 
27 



210 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

and although I believe, with Pallas, that he is un 
homme de hois, yet he received me standing and un- 
covered. Our conversation was merely respecting my 
going with the post, which he granted me, and, be- 
sides, told me that I should be particularly well accom- 
modated, wished me a successful voyage, and that my 
travels might be productive of information to mankind. 
I conversed with him in French, through the interpre- 
tation of the Conseiller. 

" This latter gentleman gave me the following in- 
formation. ' The white Tartars you saw about Kazan 
are natives of that country, and we call them Kazan 
Tartars. Kazan was once a kingdom of theirs. 
From this place to Yakutsk you pass among the Kal- 
muks. At Yakutsk you will see the Yakuti, and also 
the Tongusians, who are more personable than the 
Kalmuks, or Monguls, and more sensible ; but the 
Yakuti are more sensible than either. They are 
indeed a people of good natural parts and genius, and 
by experience are found capable of any kind of learn- 
ing. From Yakutsk you pass through the Tongusians 
all the way to Okotsk. In the time of Jenghis Khan 
the Thibet Tartars, that is, the Kalmuks, or Monguls, 
made incursions into this country. We have two 
hundred thousand Russians, and, as nearly as we can 
estimate, half that number of Indians of all descrip- 
tions in this province. Marriages in and near the vil- 
lages take place between the Russians and Tartars, 
but they are not frequent. I believe the extreme cold, 
and want of snow here during winter, and the sudden 
change of weather in the summer, to be the reason 
why Ave can have no fruit here. We have often, in the 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 211 

months of May and June, ice three and four inches 
thick. Besides, this country, as you have observed, is 
subject to terrible gales of wind, which blow away 
both bud and blossom. We have nevertheless a few 
little apples, which we eat at our tables, and they are 
not without flavor.' Thus much the Conseiller. 

" The forest trees in this country are almost alto- 
gether birch ; they are generally rotten at the heart. 
Mr Karamyscheff tells me, that there are many bones 
of the rhinoceros in these parts of Siberia, and also 
the same large bones, that are found on the banks of 
the Ohio in America. It seems, that the places in 
which to find those bones, and other cm'ious fossils, 
are at the mouths of the great rivers Yenissey, Lena, 
Kolyma, and others, among the islands that are formed 
where they flow into the sea. Here they are all 
lodged, after having been washed from under ground 
by the rivers in the different countries, which they 
traverse. 

" August 17th. Today it seems the jubilee is ob- 
served, on account of the Empress having reigned 
twentyfive years. In coming from Karamyscheff 's I 
met the Governor-General and his suite of officers, 
the brigadier I dined with yesterday, and other digni- 
taries, to the number of two hundred, all going to 
dine with the Governor, who keeps open house on the 
occasion. The governor and other officers saluted me 
as they passed ; those, who did not know me, wonder- 
ing what could procure such attention to one so poorly 
and oddly attired. I was pressed by some of the 
company to go and dine. Had my clothes been good, 
I would have gone. But I dined with Karamyscheff. 



212 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

It is a Tartar name, and he is of Tartarian extraction. 
Saw an appletree in his garden. The fruit, as he de- 
scribed it, would be as large as a full sized pea in 
France or England. It is the genuine appletree, and 
their naturalists distinguish it by the name of the 
pyrus haccata. These are the only apples in Siberia. 
" Karamyscheff says the Yakuti Tartars are the 
veritables Tartars, by which I understand, that they 
are a less mixed race than the others. Their language 
he says is the oldest language, and that other tribes 
understand it. The Yakuti formerly possessed this 
country, but they were driven out by the Kalmuks, 
who made a succession of attacks upon them, and 
pursued them to the ^ la, down which they fled, and 
settled at Yakutsk, ixaramyscheff has in his house 
four children descended from a Kalmuk father and 
Russian mother. The first resembles the father, and 
is entirely Kalmuk ; the second the mother, with fair 
hair and eyes ; one of the others is Kalmuk, and the 
other Russian. They are all healthy and well look- 
ing children. I saw three of them. Karamyscheff 
knows not among what people to rank the Kamtscha- 
"lales. He acknowledges with me, that their faces 
are entirely Kalmuk, but says they came from Ameri- 
ca. This controverts the common opinion, that 
America was peopled after Asia. But he is carried 
away with the wild notions of the French naturalist, 
Buffon. I find universally, that the Tartars wear 
their beards. The ears of Kalmuk, or Mongul Tar- 
tars, project universally farther from the head, than 
those of Europeans. I measured the ears of the Kal- 
muks at Karamyscheff 's today, and on an average 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. 213 

they projected one and a half inch, and they were by 
no means extraordmary examples. The ears of the 
Chmese are shuilar. 

" We have French and Spanish wines here, but so 
adulterated, that I was told of it before I knew it to 
be wine. KaramyschefT is fully sensible of the luxury 
and vanity I complain of in this country, which is 
but beginning to begin., as I told him today. He 
laments it, and declared frankly to me, that patriot- 
ism and the true solid virtues of a citizen are hardly 
known. The geographical termination of Russia, 
and the commencement of Siberia, is at the city 
of Perm. The natural boundary is the river Yenis- 
sey. I observe that the face of the country is very 
different on this side of the Yenissey, and Karamy- 
schefT, who is a botanist, says the vegetable produc- 
tions differ as much. 
^ '■^ August l^lh.. Went this morning to see some 
curiosities from different parts of Siberia. Saw also 
a piece of Sandwich Island cloth, which was obtained 
from Captain Cook's ship at Kamtschatka, when he 
was there. In the collection was the skin of a Chi- 
nese goat, the hair of which was the whitest, longest, 
and most delicate that I ever saw ; also some excel- 
lent sea-otter skins, the largest of which were valued 
at two hundred roubles ; likewise a bow, quiver, and 
all the military apparatus of a Kalmuk, which was 
very heavy. The Kalrauks and Monguls here receive 
the common name of the Buretti. 

I went to the Archbishop's to see a young savage of 
the Tchuktchi. The good bishop had taken great 
pains to humanize him (as Dr Wheelock had done 



214 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

with Sampson Occum, whose story I related on this 
occasion) ; but he informed us, that he had lately 
taken to drink, and died drunk ; or, in the bishop's 
own words, ' somebody had one day given him half a 
rouble, and he went out with it, but never returned, 
and was found dead by the side of a Kabak.' Dined 
with my friend Karamyscheff again today, who pre- 
sented me, in lieu of a domestic, a young lieutenant 
to go with me and buy a few things ; ' But,' said he, 
' don't put any money in his hands, he will not return 
it.' We had at table the wife of a clerk to Mr 
Karamyscheff, whose mother was a savage from the 
Tchuktchi regions, and her father a Russian. She is 
a fine creature, and her complexion a good middling 
color. It strengthens my opinion, that the difference 
of color in man is not the effect of any design in the 
Creator, but of causes simple in themselves, which 
will perhaps soon be well ascertained. It is an extra- 
ordinary circumstance, but I think I ought not on that 
account to conclude, that it is not the result of natural 
causes. 

^^ August 19th. For the second time I have ob- 
served, that in the wells, about twelve feet down, 
there is a great deal of ice adhering to the sides. I 
went this morning to see a merchant, who was the 
owner of a vessel, that had passed from Kamtschatka 
to different parts of the coast of America. He 
showed me some charts rudely descriptive of his voy- 
ages ; says there are, on different parts of the coast 
of America, two thousand Russians ; and that, as 
nearly as he can judge, the number of skins, procured 
by them in that country, amounts to twelve thousand. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 215 

He has a vessel at Okotsk, which leaves that place for 
America next summer, and he offers me a passage in 
her. 

" Dined today with a German colonel, and after 
dinner set out for the Lake Baikal, which, in the Kal- 
muk language, signifies the North Sea. The Kalmuks, 
or Monguls, originally lived on the south of this lake, 
towards China and Thibet. After a good and cheer- 
ful dinner with the colonel, we mounted his drosky, 
with post horses, and took our departure for the lake. 
After seven hours' ride over a miserable road, we ar- 
rived at the little hamlet of St Nicholas, where for- 
merly the Russian ambassadors resided, before they 
embarked to cross the lake for China. This village 
has a church in it, dedicated to St Nicholas, and all 
the sailors on the lake resort to it. We lodged here 
through the night, and early next morning resumed 
our journey, and reached the border of the lake. Here 
are six or seven houses, among which the largest was 
ordered to be built by the Empress for the accommo- 
dation of all strangers that pass this way ; and also a 
galliot, which plies as a packet in the summer across 
the lake. 

" We hailed the galliot, which was at anchor in the 
lake. The captain came ashore, and we went off 
with him in a small boat, wdth line and lead to take 
soundings ; but having only fifty fathoms of line, and 
it raining very hard, we could not make much progress. 
At the distance of one hundred feet from the shore, 
my whole length of line was taken up. We retired to 
the house, breakfasted, and waited an hour for the rain 
to abate ; but, finding it to continue, we requested the 



216 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

captain to send us in his boat to Irkutsk. He com- 
plied with our request, and made us a canopy of hides 
to defend us from the rain. We sent our drosky back 
by the postboy, and embarked with two sailors to 
row us. We passed along the margin of the lake to 
the outlet, where the river Angara begins, and thence 
down the river to Irkutsk, a distance of about forty- 
five miles. This lake is seven hundred and sixtynine 
versts (five hundred and thirteen miles) in its longest 
,part, and sixty versts (forty miles) in its broadest. Its 
depth is said to be unfathomable. It has an annual 
ebb and flux ; the one is caused by the autumnal rains, 
and the other by the dry season in spring. It has 
emptying into it one hundred and sixtynine small 
streams, from twenty to eighty yards wide, and three 
larger ones from a quarter to half a mile wide. It has 
but one outlet, by which to dispose of the redundancy 
from all these influxes, and that is the river Angara, 
which is a Kalmuk name. It is no more than a quar- 
ter of a mile wide, where it springs from the lake, is 
very shallow, and far from being rapid. 

" August 22d. The government of Irkutsk has 
four provinces, namely, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Nartschintsk, 
and Okotsk. These are divided into several districts 
each. The governor sent me a surveyor, with the 
latest chart of the great territory embracing these 
provinces. By measurement I found its latitudinal 
extent, from its southern extremity to the Icy Ocean 
north, to be two thousand seven hundred versts, and 
its longitudinal extent, from its western boundary to 
Tchuktchi Nos, its eastern extremity at Bering's 
Strait, to be three thousand nine hundred versts. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 217 

" I am informed by the Governor, that the post will 
not be ready for three days. 

" August 23d. The commerce of Irkutsk is very 
small with Europe, and consequently at present at a 
very low ebb, since there is no open trade with the 
Chinese, its nearest neighbors of a commercial charac- 
ter. The frontiers, between this country and China, 
are principally defended by an army of Buretti, or 
Kalmuk Tartars. They are mostly horsemen, like 
the Cossacs in the western dominions, and amount to 
more than five thousand men. There are two con- 
vents near this town, one of men and the other of 
women, separated by a river. I observe in Siberia, 
that in all the cities there is one great burying place, 
and that wherever this is (and it is commonly out of 
the town), there is likewise a church, and the best 
church of the place. This is but another kind of 
pyramid, a large mound, or a mound modified. 

" August 25th. This morning I leave tow^n. The 
land is well cultivated on the borders of the river, and 
is good. Among the Buretti, or Kalmuks, I observe 
the American moccasin, the common moccasin, like 
the Finland moccasin. The houses of the Buretti 
have octagonal sides, covered with turf, with a fireplace 
in the centre, and an aperture for smoke ; the true 
American wigwam, and like the first Tartar house I 
saw in this country, which was near Kazan. Mr 
Karamyscheff says they have the wild horse on their 
Chinese frontiers. The Buretti here ride and work 
the horned cattle ; they perforate the cartilage of the 
nose, and put a cord through it to guide them by. This 
28 



218 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

is to be wondered at, as the country is level, and they 
have vast droves of horses. 

" August 26th. Hard white frost last night, and 
very cold. Run away with by these furious unbroke 
Tartar horses, and saved myself each time by jump- 
ing out of the kibitka. Thank Heaven, ninety versts 
more will probably put an end to my kibitka journey- 
ing for ever." 

Such are some of the brief notes entered in his 
journal, while he was at Irkutsk. He was detained 
on account of the delay of the post, and made the 
best use of his time in collecting such information, as 
he supposed would be serviceable to him in his future 
travels. The inquiries, of which he was peculiarly 
fond, respecting the different races of men, their ori- 
gin, classification, and distinctions, were here pursued 
with his customary diligence and discrimination. But 
it should always be borne in mind, that he did not 
intend his journal for anything more than a repository 
of loose hints, which might assist his recollection, 
when the occasion for using them should occur. 
They were never afterwards revised, or altered, but 
have been preserved in the original form, in which he 
recorded them on his journey. This fact should 
claim for them all the indulgence, which their incohe- 
rency, or want of maturity, may seem to require. 

The Lake Baikal in some respects is one of the 
most remarkable bodies of water on the globe. Other 
travellers have given its dimensions somewhat differ- 
ently from Ledyard, varying from three hundred to 
six hundred miles in length, and from fortyfive to sixty 
miles in width where it is the broadest. Ledyard 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 219 

probably measured it on the chart just mentioned. All 
travellers agree, however, that the scenery around this 
lake is the most picturesque, bold, and imposing im- 
aginable. The Angara bursts out from the lake, be- 
tween immense battlements of perpendicular rocks, 
which, if we may judge from Bell's description of them, 
surpass in grandeur the famous passage of the Poto- 
mac through the Blue Ridge at Harper's Ferry. For 
about a mile after leaving the lake, there is a continu- 
ed rapid, extending across the whole breadth of the 
stream, and admitting of no boat communication, ex- 
cept by a narrow channel on the east side, up which 
boats are towed, and propelled wdth poles, from the 
village of St Nicholas into the lake. Around the en- 
tire circumference of the lake, and particularly on the 
north, lofty and craggy mountains are seen piled one 
above another, in the wildest confusion, and masses of 
rock rising like towers from the very margin of the 
water. Down the ravines and precipices thus formed, 
the numerous tributary streams pour themselves into 
this great reservoir. Pallas was inclined to believe, 
that the enormous gulf, which forms the basin of the 
Baikal, was caused by a violent disruption of the earth, 
at some very remote period. 

The Selinga, a river which empties itself into this 
lake from the south, is larger at its mouth than the 
Angara, where it issues from the lake. It has its 
source in the Chinese dominions, and is navigable for 
many miles into the interior. Another river, called 
the eastern Angara, and probably larger than the 
Selinga, comes in from the north. To these must be 
added the contributions of more than a hundred and 



220 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

sixty Other streams of various sizes. It is difficult to 
imagine, what becomes of the immense quantity of 
water thus poured into the lake, when it is considered 
that there is but a single outlet. The width of this 
outlet Ledyard states at a quarter of a mile, but 
Bell says it appeared to him a mile. In either case 
the water discharged by it would be in no proportion 
to the quantity, which falls into the lake. In a 
warmer region, as in that where the lake Tsad is 
situate in Africa, the surplus might be easily disposed 
of by evaporation, but in so cold a climate as that of 
Irkutsk, this is hardly possible. The conjecture of an 
internal communication with the great ocean, would 
seem to afford the only plausible solution of the diffi- 
culty. Lake Superior contains a larger body of water, 
has a small outlet, and is in a climate perhaps as cold, 
but it receives comparatively slender contributions 
from rivers. A similar remark may be made as to the 
Caspian Sea, and the Sea of Aral. The water of the 
Baikal is fresh. No bottom has ever yet been reached 
by the sounding line. When Bell crossed it, a hun- 
dred years ago, with the Russian ambassador on his 
way to Pekin, a line of more than nine hundred feet 
in length was let down, without touching the bottom. 
The report of Professor Pallas on this point is not so 
explicit, as might have been expected from a scientific 
traveller. He says, that a ball of packthread, iveigli- 
ing more than an ounce, had been used as a sounding 
line, but no bottom was found.* What length he 

* " Le Baikal a une si grande profondeur dans le milieu, et sur les 
cotes septentrionales, qu'on a deroule un peloton de ficelle pesant plus 
d'une once, pour sonder, sans trouver de fond." Voyages du Profes- 
seur Pallas, Tom. VI. p. 118. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 221 

would assign to an ounce of packthread is not revealed 
to his readers. We have seen, that one hundred feet 
from the shore, Ledyard's line of three hundred feet 
met with no obstruction. On all sides the shore is 
bold and dangerous, with hardly an anchoring place, 
except at the mouths of the large rivers. If the water 
could be removed, there would probably be exposed a 
cavity, or fissure, equal to the present dimensions of 
the lake, and extending to a great depth into the 
earth. Professor Pallas thinks the ordinary level of 
the lake was once higher, and that it flowed over the 
low country at the mouth of the Selinga, which is 
now inhabited. No lava, or volcanic appearances, have 
been noticed in the regions about the lake. 

It is considered very remarkable, that the fish called 
Chien de mer is found in the Baikal. This is men- 
tioned by Pallas and Ledyard. The natural element 
of this fish is the ocean, and it is very rarely known, as 
the Professor says, to enter rivers even for a small 
distance. How it should get into the Baikal, a fresh 
water lake at least three thousand miles from the 
ocean, taking the windings of the river into the ac- 
count, is deemed a problem of no easy solution, espe- 
cially as this fish has never been known either in the 
Yenissey, or Angara, by which the waters of the lake 
pass into the Northern Sea.* He is not satisfied with 
this course of migration, and would look for a more 
extraordinary cause, but does not venture an opinion 
on the subject. The Baikal contains seals, also, whose 
usual residence is in the salt water. Whether they 

* The Angara falls into the Yenissey on its way to the ocean. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

came up the Yenissey and Angara, is another ques- 
tion to be settled. Bell thinks they did. Pallas is 
silent on the subject, and so is Ledyard. The skins 
of these seals are preferred to those of salt water 
seals. The inhabitants have a treacherous mode of 
taking these animals. In winter the seals are obliged 
occasionally to come up through holes in the ice for 
respiration ; over these holes the seal-catcher spreads 
nets, in which the unwary animal is entangled, when 
he escapes from his nether element. 

In the part of the journal to which we have now 
come, are contained some curious speculations respect- 
ing the number of rivers in Siberia, and the quantity 
of water, which is continually disembogued by them 
into the Northern Ocean. On his route from Moscow 
to Irkutsk, Ledyard had crossed twentyfive large navi- 
gable rivers, whose courses were north. The Yenis- 
sey, where he passed it, runs at the rate of about five 
miles an hour, and generally the rivers on the east of 
the Yenissey run tw o or three miles in an hour swifter 
than the western ones, between the Yenissey and 
Moscow. He thinks these twentyfive rivers, taken 
together, had an average width of half a mile where he 
crossed them. He, also, ascertained that there were 
twelve rivers of a similar description between Irkutsk 
and Kamtschatka, making in all thirtyseven. Allowing 
these rivers to be twice as wide at their mouths, as at 
these interior points, which is evidently a moderate 
estimate, we shall have a column of water thirtyseven 
miles wide, and of the average depth of rivers a mile 
in width, constantly flowing into the Frozen Ocean, 
with a velocity of at least three or four miles an hour. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

His inference from the whole is, that such an im- 
mense body of fresh water incessantly discharged, at 
points so near each other and so near the pole, must 
have a sensible effect in creating and perpetuating the 
ice in those latitudes. Whatever may be thought of 
this theory, it is an unquestionable fact, that a 
much larger quantity of water is conveyed by rivers 
from Siberia into the Frozen Ocean, than runs into 
the sea in any other part of the globe, within the 
same compass. Whether these streams are mainly 
fed by native springs, or by the melting of snows, and 
whether the superabundance of these snows is pro- 
duced by vapors wafted from warmer climes, are 
topics of inquiry that must be left to those, who are 
inclined to pursue them. Snow cannot be formed 
without moisture, but where the surface of the earth 
is bound in frost six or eight months in a year, there 
can be little evaporation or moisture. If snow still 
continues to fall and accumulate, whence is it that the 
atmosphere is surcharged with the vapors necessary 
for this operation ? 

We left our traveller with his kibitka, on his first 
day's journey from Irkutsk northward. It was now 
the twentysixth of August, and the forest trees had 
begun to drop their foliage, and put on the garb of 
autumn. The country in the environs of Irkutsk was 
well cultivated, containing fine fields of wheat, rye, 
barley, extensive pasture lands, and a good breed of 
cattle. The sheep were of the large-tailed kind, such 
as are found at the Cape of Good Hope, but the mut- 
ton was not well flavored. 



224 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

In company with Lieutenant Laxman, a Swedish 
officer, Ledjard embarked on the river Lena, at a 
point one hundred and fifty miles distant from Irkutsk, 
with the intention of floating down its current to 
Yakutsk. This river navigation was fourteen hundred 
miles. Where they entered their boat, the stream 
was no more than twenty yards broad, with here and 
there gentle rapids, and high, rugged mountains on 
each side. They were carried along from eighty to 
a hundred miles a day, the river gradually increasing 
in size, and the mountain scenery putting on an 
infinite variety of forms, alternately sublime and 
picturesque, bold and fantastic, with craggy rocks 
and jutting headlands, bearing on their brows the 
verdure of pines, firs, larches, and other evergreens, 
and Alpine shrubs. All the way to Yakutsk, the 
river was studded with islands, recurring at short 
intervals, which added to the romantic effect of the 
scenery, and made a voyage down the Lena, not- 
withstanding its many privations, by no means an un- 
pleasant trip to a true lover of nature, and a hardy, 
veteran traveller. The weather was growing cold, 
and heavy fogs hung about the river till a late hour in 
the morning. They daily passed small towns and 
villages, where they went ashore for provisions, or re- 
freshment, as occasion required. 

" August 30th. We stopped at a village this 
morning to procure a few stores. They killed for us 
a sheep, gave us three quarts of milk, two loaves of 
bread, cakes with carrots and radishes baked in them, 
onions, one dozen of fresh and two dozen of salt fish, 
straw and bark to mend the covering of our boat; 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. 225 

and all for the value of about fourteen pence sterling. 
The poor creatures brought us the straw, to show us 
how then- grain was blasted by the cruel frost, although 
it had been reaped before the twentjfirst of August. 
The peasants say the mountains here are full of bears 
and wolves. We have seen a plenty of wild fowl, 
which we shoot as we please. In the river is the 
salmon-trout. The people fish with seines, and also 
with spears by torchlight. This latter custom is a 
very universal one ; they fish with a torch at Otaheite. 
The double headed or Esquimaux paddle is used here. 

" September 2d. My rascal of a soldier stole our 
brandy, and got drunk, and was impertinent. I was 
obliged to handle him roughly to preserve order. — 
Fixed a little sail to our boat. 

" September 4th. Arrived at the town of Keringa 
at daylight, and stayed with the commandant till noon, 
and was treated very hospitably. Some merchants 
sent us stores. It is the custom here, if they hear of 
the arrival of a foreigner, to load him with their little 
services. It is almost impossible to pass a town of 
any kind, without being arrested by them. They 
have the earnestness of hospitality ; they crowd their 
tables with everything they have to eat and drink, and, 
not content with that, they fill your wallet. I wish I 
could think them as honest, as they are hospitable. 
The reason why the commandant did not show his 
wife, was because he was jealous of her. I have 
observed this to be a prevailing passion here. The 
river on each side as we pass is bounded by vast 
rocky cliffs, the highest mass of rocks I ever saw. 
29 



226 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 

" September 15th. Snow squalls with fresh gales ; 
up all night at the helm mjself. 

^'■September 17th. Ninety versts from Yakutsk. 
Passed yesterday a very odd arrangement of rocks, 
which line the margin of the river for sixty versts. 
They are of talc, and appear formerly to have been 
covered with earth, but are now entirely bare. They 
are all of a pyramidal form, and about one hundred 
and fifty feet in height ; detached at their bases, and 
disposed with extraordinary regularity. These rocky 
pyramids appear to terminate the long mountainous 
south and east banks of the Lena, which have uni- 
formly continued from Katchuga, where 1 first em- 
barked on the river." 

On the eighteenth of September he arrived at Ya- 
kutsk, after a fatiguing voyage of twentytwo days, in 
a small bateau on the Lena. During this period, he 
had passed from a summer climate to one of rigorous 
cold. When he left Irkutsk, it was just in the midst 
of harvest time, and the reapers were in the fields ; 
but when he entered Yakutsk, the snow was six 
inches deep, and the boys were whipping their tops 
on the ice. He debarked from his bateau two miles 
above the town, and there mounted a sledge, drawn by 
an ox, with a Yakuti Indian on his back, and guided 
by a cord passing through the cartilage of his nose. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 227 



CHAPTER X. 

Interview with the Commandant of Yakutsk. — Stopped at this place on account 
of the advanced state of the season. — His severe disappointment at this 
event. — Detained under false pretences. — Takes up his residence in Yakutsk 
for the winter. — Elephant's bones on the banks of the Lena, and in other 
parts of the country. — General remarks on the various tribes of Tartars in 
Siberia. — Characteristics of savages in cold and warm climates. — Kalmuks 
have two modes of writing. — Their manner of living. — The Yakuti Tartars. — 
Influence of religion upon them. — The love of freedom common to all the 
Tartars. — Their dwellings. — Intermarriages between the Russians and Tar- 
tars. — In what degree the color of descendants is affected by such intermar- 
riages. — Peculiarities of features in the Tartar countenance. — Form and use of 
the Tartar pipe. — Dress. — Difficulty of taking vocabularies of unknown lan- 
guages. — Marriage ceremonies. — Notions of theology. — Practice of scalping. — 
Wampum. — Classification of the Tartars and North American Indians. — 
Language a criterion for judging of the affinity between the different races of 
men. — Causes of the difference of color in the human race. — Tartars and 
American Indians the same people. 

Ledyard immediately waited on the commandant, 
delivered his letter from the Governor General, and 
made known his situation and designs. It was his 
wish to press forward with as much expedition as pos- 
sible to Okotsk, lest the winter should shut in before 
he could reach that town, where he hoped to seize 
upon the first opportunity in the spring, to secure a 
passage to the American continent. The distance 
from Yakutsk was between six and seven hundred 
miles. Lodgings were provided for him by order of 
the Commandant, with whom he had already dined, 
and who soon after came to sec him. Imagine his 
dismay, when the Commandant assured him, that the 
season was already so far advanced as to render a 
Journey to Okhotsk impossible. 



228 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYAKD, 

" What, alas, shall I do," exclaims he in his journal, 
" for I am miserably prepared for this unlooked for de- 
lay. By remaining here through the winter, I cannot 
expect to resume my march until May, which will be 
eight months. My funds ! I have but two long fro- 
zen stages more, and I shall be beyond the want, or 
aid of money, until, emerging from the deep deserts, 
I gain the American Atlantic States ; and then, thy 
glowing climates, Africa, explored, I will lay me down, 
and claim my little portion of the globe I have view- 
ed ; may it not be before. How many of the noble 
minded have been subsidiary to me, or to my enter- 
prises ; yet that meagre demon, Poverty, has travelled 
with me hand in hand over half the globe, and wit- 
nessed what — the tale I will not unfold ! Ye children 
of wealth and idleness, what a profitable commerce 
might be made between us. A little of my toil 
might better brace your bodies, give spring to mind and 
zest to enjoyment ; and a very little of that wealth, 
which you scatter around you, would put it beyond 
the power of anything but death to oppose my kindred 
greetings vi'ith all on earth, that bear the stamp of 
map. This is the third time, that I have been over- 
taken and arrested by winter ; and both the others, by 
giving time for my evil genius to rally his hosts about 
me, have defeated the enterprise. Fortune, thou hast 
humbled me at last, for I am this moment the slave of 
cowardly solicitude, lest in the heart of this dread 
winter, there lurk the seeds of disappointment to my 
ardent desire of gaining the opposite continent. But 
I submit." 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 229 

These melancholy forebodings were but too literally 
verified, as the issue will prove. In a letter to 
Colonel Smith from Yakutsk, he speaks again of this 
disappointment in the following manner. 

" The Commandanl assured me, that he had orders 
from the Governor General to render me all possible 
kindness and service ; 'But, Sir,' continued he, ' the 
first service I am bound to render you is, to beseech 
you not to attempt to reach Okotsk this winter.' He 
spoke to me in French. I almost rudely insisted on 
being permitted to depart immediately, and expressed 
surprise that a Yakuti Indian, and a Tartar horse, 
should be thought incapable of following a man, born 
and educated in the latitude of forty. He declared 
upon his honor, that the journey was impracticable. 
The contest lasted two or three days, in which inter- 
val, being still fixed in my opinion, I was preparing 
for the journey. The Commandant at length waited 
on me, and brought with him a trader, a very good, 
respectable looking man of about fifty, as a witness to 
the truth and propriety of his advice to me. This 
trader, for ten or twelve years, had passed and repassed 
often from Yakutsk to Okotsk. I was obliged, how- 
ever severely I might lament the misfortune, to yield to 
two such advocates for my happiness. The trader 
held out to me all the horrors of the winter, and the 
severity of the journey at the best season ; and the 
Commandant, the goodness of his house and the soci- 
ety here, all of which would be at my service. The 
difficulty of the journey I was aware of; but when 1 
assented to its impracticability, it was a compliment ; 
for I do not believe it is so, nor hardly anything else. 



230 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" It is certainly bad in theory to suppose the seasons 
can triumph over the efforts of an honest man. The 
proifered hospitality of the Commandant I have no 
doulDt was sincere, because in Russia generally, and 
particularly in Siberia, it is the fashion to be hospita- 
ble. It is probable, also, that it is a natural principle. 
I should, however, have said less to them about the 
matter, held 1 not been without clothes, and w^ith only 
a guinea and one fourth in my purse ; and in a place 
where the necessaries of life are dearer than in Eu- 
rope, and clothing still dearer by the same comparison. 
And, besides, the people of all descriptions here, as far 
as they are able, live in all the excess of Asiatic luxu- 
ry, joined with such European excesses, as have 
migrated hither. Add to all these, that they are uni- 
versally and extremely ignorant, and adverse to every 
species of intellectual enjoyment, and I will declare to 
you, that I was never before so totally at a loss how to 
accommodate myself to my situation. The only con- 
solation I have, of the argumentative kind, is to reflect, 
that he who travels for information must be supposed 
to want it. By being here eight months, I shall be 
able to make my observations much more extensive, 
respecting the country and its inhabitants, than if I 
had passed directly through it ; and this also is a 
satisfaction." 

It being thus determined, against his opinion and 
wishes, that he should not proceed, he resolved to 
reconcile himself to his fate, and to make the best use 
of his time, which circumstances would allow. He 
had entered the following memorandum in his journal, 
while coming down the Lena. " Yakutsk is the last 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 231 

place where I shall be able to make any inquiries, 
therefore let them be extensive." He now set him- 
self earnestly to the task of complying with this in- 
junction, and of collecting as much information as 
possible. The facts and reflections, which he thought 
worth preserving, are recorded in his diary without 
method or connexion. It was his manner, as we have 
already seen, to write down only hints, to state facts 
briefly, and throw out his own remarks upon them in 
language concise and unstudied. These particulars, 
as heretofore, must be remembered in reading the free 
extracts, which will be made from the part of his 
journal written at Yakutsk. 

There is some room for doubt, whether the Com- 
mandant was perfectly honest, in advising and per- 
suading Ledyard to desist from his purpose of pro- 
ceeding immediately to Okotsk. In the first place, it 
was certainly not an uncommon thing to perform that 
journey in the winter, and the Commandant's tender 
concern for the sufferings of the traveller, who knew 
what was before him, and was eager to grapple with 
every hardship in the way, could scarcely be such as to 
induce him, from this motive alone, to urge his delay 
for eight months in Yakutsk. His bringing in the 
trader to strengthen his argument, on the same benev- 
olent grounds, is moreover a suspicious circumstance. 
Ledyard yielded to their persuasions, against his will 
and his judgment, and was only surprised that he 
should meet two men in Siberia, entire strangers to 
him, who should have his happiness so much at heart. 

Again, the original letter of recommendation from 
Jacobi, the Governor General of Irkutsk, to the Com- 



232 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

mandant of Yakutsk, has been preserved amongst 
Ledyard's papers. It is written in the Russian lan- 
guage and character.* After recommending the bearer 
in general terms, and stating that he wished to pass 
through to the American continent, with a view of 
acquiring a knowledge of that country, Jacobi adds ; 
" His object seems to be, that of joining a certain 
secret naval expedition ; I earnestly request you, 
therefore, to receive Mr Ledyard most kindly, and to 
assist him every possible way in all his wishes, and to 
forward him without the least delay to the above men- 
tioned expedition." The passage in this letter de- 
manding particular attention, is that in which the 
Governor General enjoins it on the Commandant, with 
marked emphasis, to treat him kindly, and send him 
forward according to his wishes without delay. Now 
if he had given this order seriously, it would not have 
been done, unless it was intended to be obeyed, and 
Jacobi knew very well whether the journey was prac- 
ticable at the season, when the letter would arrive ; 
and if it was in fact a serious and positive order, it is 
not likely that the Commandant would have hesitated 
to carry it instantly into effect. My inference is, that 
there were secret instructions sent at the same time 
to detain Ledyard in Yakutsk, and that the Comman- 
dant for this purpose resorted to the artifice of a pre- 
tended concern for his health and comfort, that all 
suspicions of any designed interference might be lulled 



* A translation of tliis letter was procured from the Russian Lega- 
tion, through the politeness of Mr Poletica, while he was minister from 
the court of Petersburg to the United States. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 233 

to sleep. It is remarkable, too, that the letter of 
recommendation was sent open, and was returned to 
Ledyard after having been read by the Commandant. 
This manceuvre was artfully contrived to quiet his ap- 
prehensions, and cause him to believe, that the Gov- 
ernor General had taken a lively interest in his suc- 
cess, and was disposed to render him efficient aid. To 
this subject I shall have occasion to recur. 

Meantime let us return to the occupations of the 
traveller, while he was thus unconsciously a prisoner 
at Yakutsk. He pursued with diligence his inquiries, 
and lost no opportunity of seeking knowledge wher- 
ever he could find it, particularly on those topics, 
which he was fond of contemplating. In the letter 
to Colonel Smith, mentioned above, are contained 
some observations, besides those already quoted, which 
are in harmony with the writer's usual turn of mind, 
and mode of expressing his thoughts. 

" I cannot say, that my voyage on the Lena has 
furnished me with anything new, and yet no traveller 
ever passed by scenes, that more constantly engage 
the heart and the imagination. I suppose no two 
philosophers would think alike about them. A painter 
and a poet would be much more likely to agree. 
There are some things, however, not unworthy of a 
philosophical inquiry. The Lena is very indifferent 
for navigation, from this place towards Irkutsk. In 
some mountains near the river are large salt, mines, 
which afford a supply to all the adjacent country. It 
is pure, solid, transparent, mineral salt, and found in 
veins. The pieces that I have seen, with the Com- 
mandant here, are six and nine inches square. When 
30 



234 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

pulverized for the table, it is much the most delicate 
salt I ever saw, of a perfect white, and an agreeable 
taste, but I imagine not so strong by one third, as our 
West India salt. There are also upon the banks of 
the Lena, and indeed all over this country, great 
quantities of elephants' bones. The Commandant 
possesses some of the teeth of that animal, larger than 
any I saw in the royal museum at Petersburg, and 
they are as sound as they ever were. The hafts of 
knives, spoons, and a variety of other things are here 
made of them, and they equal any ivory I have seen 
from Africa. If I can, I will send you a specimen of 
this fine bone, and of the salt likewise. Indeed, I 
want to send you many things, but it is an embarrass- 
ing circumstance, when one has correspondents in the 
antipodes. And though no man could show more 
kindness, or render more service to a traveller, than 
Dr Pallas has done to me, yet I am reserved in asking 
them upon all occasions. Brown and Porter, too ; — I 
wonder their patience is not exhausted. It has been 
as thoroughly tried, as yours was while I was at Pe- 
tersburg. 

" The fact is, I am a bankrupt to the world, but I 
hope it will consider well the occasion of my being 
such. I believe it will. My English creditors are 
the most numerous, and I have great consolation on 
that account, because they think and act with such 
heavenly propriety. In most parts of the world, and 
as much in Russia as anywhere, and in Siberia most 
of all, it is the custom not to think at all. In this 
case it is difficult to liquidate, rationally, a receipt and 
expenditure of three dinners and a bow. For the 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 235 

same reason, when I left France my accounts were 
not closed, and from that day to this I know not 
whether I owe France, or France ow^es me. But here 
at Yakutsk it will be infinitely worse, and without 
nnj violence to the metaphor, or pedantic affectation, 
I declare to you, that, to leave Yakutsk with respecta- 
bility and reach Okotsk alive, will be to pass a Scylla 
and Chary bdis, which I have never yet encountered. 
Both you, myself, and my friends, had formed at 
London very erroneous opinions of the equipment 
necessary to pass through this country, and particu- 
larly as to the manner of travelling. It has been the 
source of all my troubles. They have been many, 
and I have done Wrong to feel them so severely. 1 
owe the world some services, which I shall make 
great efforts to perform. Make my best compliments 
to my friends, and tell them that I have a heart as big 
as St Paul's Church in such service as theirs." 

The mistake here alluded to, in regard to the mode 
of travelling, was the plan formed by himself and his 
friends in London, that he should walk, as being more 
economical. By experiment he proved this to have 
been an ill advised scheme, for walking not only con- 
sumed a great deal more time, but the expenses in the 
aggregate w^ere higher, than by the usual mode of 
travelling post through those countries. In a letter 
from Irkutsk he says, " It has been to this moment a 
source of misfortune to me, that I did not begin to 
ride post from Hamburg. I have footed it at a great 
expense, besides the loss of my baggage, which I 
severely feel. Never did I adopt an idea so fatal to 
my happiness." The reason why he viewed this 



236 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

oversight in so serious an aspect was, that it would 
inevitably be the cause of keeping him back, a full 
season, from his passage across the sea to the Ameri- 
can continent, and thus in the end a whole year 
would be lost. Add to this the innumerable accidents, 
that might intervene to defeat his purpose altogether. 
Whereas, had he proceeded by the shortest conveyance 
from Hamburg to the Russian capital, he might with 
great ease have reached Kamtschatka the same sea- 
son. The origin of his disasters may chiefly be re- 
ferred, however, to his fit of romantic benevolence in 
seeking out Major Langborn; wasting his precious 
time in Copenhagen, and sharing with his erratic 
countryman his scanty means, which, in their whole 
amount, were scarcely enough to keep himself alone 
from beggary. 

I shall now bring together, in as connected a form 
as the nature of the particulars will admit, Ledyard's 
observations on various tribes of Tartars, with whom 
he became more or less acquainted in Siberia. His 
researches were desultory, but pursued with inquisi- 
tiveness ; his statements are often curious, sometimes 
important ; they will afford amusement to the general 
reader, as well as information to the philosophical 
inquirer. 

^' Of all the gradations of men, the savage is the 
most formal and ceremonious, notwithstanding his 
wants and occupations are few, and he can with happy 
indifference endure privation. His heaven is peace 
and leisure. Ceremonials, like the uninterrupted 
tenor of his mind, may be supposed to be transmitted 
unchanged through many generations. Hence many 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 237 

things, which marked the earliest period of history, 
and which have left no vestige with civilized man, 
show themselves at this day among savages. Their 
luxuries, if such they may be called, are of that kind 
which nature suggests. Dress, which in hot climates 
is an inconvenience, does not become so much the ob- 
ject of attention and delight ; and here, therefore, the 
savage is more nice in the indulgence of his appetites. 
On the contrary, in cold climates, bodily covering 
being all important, ingenuity is directed to that point. 
A feeble kind of infant fancy grows out of the efforts 
of necessity, and displays its little arts in adorning 
the person with awkward and fantastic decorations. 
But here the appetites are less lively and distinguish- 
ing. With respect to food, the vilest, and that totally 
unprepared, does not come amiss, and the most deli- 
cate is not seized with eagerness. Give a cake to a 
Swedish Laplander, Finlander, or northern Tartar, 
and he eats it leisurely ; do the same to an Otaheitan, 
Italian peasant, or Spanish fisherman, and he will put 
the whole cake into his mouth if he can. The Em- 
press has caused houses to be built in the Russian 
manner, at the expense of government, and ordered 
them to be offered to the Yakuti, upon the single con- 
dition of their dwelling in them ; but they have univer- 
sally refused, preferring their apparently more uncom- 
fortable Yourtes or Wigwams. 

"The Tongusians are a wandering people, living 
solely by the chase. They rarely stop above two or 
three days in a place. They have tents or yourtes, 
made of bark, which they leave on the spot where 
they have encamped. When they march they tell 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

their women that they are going to such a mountain, 
river, lake, or forest, and leave them to bring the bag- 
gage. They are extremely active in the chase, and 
instances have occurred in which they were found 
dead, having pursued their game down some precipice. 

" The Kalmuks, or Buretti, write their language in 
columns, like the Chinese ; the Kazan Tartars from 
right to left, like the Hebrews.* The reason why the 
Buretti have the art of writing is, that they last mi- 
grated from the borders of Thibet. There is not 
another Asiatic tribe in all Siberia, that write their 
language, or have any remains of writing among 
them.f The sound of the Yakuti language very 
closely resembles that of the Chinese ; and the same, 
indeed, may be said of the languages of all the Asiatic 
Tartars. I have already observed, that the Yakuti is 
supposed to be the oldest language, and that other 
tribes have some knowledge of it. 

*^ The Kaimuks live mostly by their flocks, which 
consist of horses, sheep, goats, and cows. In summer 
they dwell in the plains, in winter retreat to the 



* Dr Clarke mentions having procured at Taganrog, on the sea of 
Azof, a specimen of writing from the Kalmuk priests. The characters 
were arranged in columns on scarlet linen, and read from the top to 
the bottom. After returning to England he was informed, that this 
writing was Sanscrit. He adds, that the Kalmuks in that part of 
Asia had two modes of writing, one with the vulgar character, so 
called, and the other with the sacred. This latter is read from left to 
right, like the European languages ; the former in columns, and would 
seem to be Sanscrit. Clarke's Travels, Vol. I. c. 15. 

f It must be observed, that Ledyard everywhere speaks of the 
Buretti as the same people with the Kalmuks, and both as direct 
descendants of the Mongul Tartars. What he says of either, there- 
fore, may coniraonly be applied to the other. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 239 

mountains, where their flocks feed oo buds, twigs of 
trees, and moss. They have much milk, which serves 
them for food, and of which they also make a kind of 
brandy.* They likewise hunt. When any of their 
flock are sick, or lame, they kill and eat them. 

" I observe there is one continual flow of good na- 
ture and cheerfulness among the Tartars. They 
never abuse each other by words, but, when provoked, 
look for revenge, either secret or open. The Tongu- 
sians fight duels with their bows, and with knives. 
They, and the other roving Tartars, have the limits 
of their hunting grounds ascertained and marked, like 
the aborigines of North America. 

" The Yakuti here take their children out in the 
evening, and teach them the names of the principal 
stars, how to direct their march by them, and how to 
judge of the weather. Astronomy must have been 
an early science. The Russ and Yakuti appear to live 
together here in harmony and peace, without any dis- 
tinction as to national difference, or superiority and in- 
feriority. I know of but one circumstance, (but, alas ! 
it is an important one,) in which the Yakuti are not 
on an equal footing with the Russ, They hold no 
offices, civil or military. The Russians have been 
here two hundred and fifty years, and the Yakuti 



* The manner of extracting this spirituous liquor from milk is large- 
ly described by Pallas. The milk is first fermented, in which state it 
contains a vinous acid. It is then subjected to the usual process of 
distillation, and the result is a species of liquor, which has intoxicating 
qualities, and of which the Kalmuks are very fond. Mare's milk is 
considered the best for this purpose, and cow's milk the next. The 
milk of sheep is seldom distilled, as it contains but a small quantity of 
the spirituous principle. Voyages du Professeur Pallas, Tom. 11. pp. 
168—175. 



240 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Tartars have been under the Russian government ever 
since, yet have they made no alteration in their dress 
or manners in general ; but the Russians have con- 
formed to the dress of the Yakuti. Very few of them 
have embraced the Christian religion, and those, 
who have, perform its duties with great indifference. 
In this respect, also, the Tartar, whether in Asia 
or America, acts up to that sui generis character, 
which distinguishes him from other branches of the 
human family. Religion of any kind, professed by any 
other people, is usually a serious, contemplative, and 
important concern, and forms at least as reniarkable a 
trait in their character, as any circumstance of fashion 
or habit ; but it forms no part of the character of a 
Tartar. I have not in my mind the Christian system 
particularly; its doctrines are indeed mysterious to 
the greatest minds and best hearts. To a Tartar they, 
must surely be so. The surprise is therefore the less, 
why they should so feebly affect the Tartar character. 
But the Mahometan system, which courts the senses, 
and appeals to the passions, has operated no farther on 
the Tartar, than to shave his head. There it stops ; it 
does not enter it, nor his heart. 

" The Tartar is a man of nature, not of art. His 
philosophy is therefore very simple, but sometimes 
sublime. Let us enumerate some ol his virtues. He 
is a lover of peace. No lawyer here, perplexing 
natural rights of property. No wanton Helen, dis- 
playing fatal charms. No priest with his outrageous 
zeal has ever disturbed the peace. Never, I believe, 
did a Tartar speak ill of the Deity, or envy his fellow 
creatures. He is contented to be what he is. Hospit- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 241 

able and humane, he is uniformly tranquil and cheer- 
ful, laconic in thought, word, and action. This is one 
great reason, and I think the greatest, why they have 
been constantly persecuted by nations of a different 
disposition, and why they have always fled before 
them, and been content to live anywhere, if they 
could only live in peace. Some have attributed this 
conduct to a love of liberty. True ; but their ideas, 
both of peace and liberty, are different from ours. 
The Tartar holds in equal estimation his dear otium, 
and his libertas. They talk much of liberty in Eng- 
land, for example, but I think it would be less agree- 
able for a Tartar to live there, than in Russian Siberia, 
where there is less liberty. The Tartars, indeed, 
think differently from most people of Europe, and, I 
believe, of Africa. If the Virginia planters were to 
give their Negroes more commodious houses to inhabit, 
instead of their poor huts, and encourage them other- 
wise to live in them, I believe the African would be of 
the same mind as the planter, and gladly accept the 
proposal. The same thing exactly has been offered 
here to the Yakuti by the crown ; they have much 
stronger inducements to accept the offer than the 
African ; but they have not, and they will not, though 
no condition accompanies the offer. They will in- 
habit the yourte. 

" The yourte, or, as the American Tartars call it 
pretty generally, wigwam, is in this country a substi- 
tute for a tent. In milder climates it is made either 
of skins or bark of trees, of sedge or some other kind 
of grass. It is always of a conical form, not divided 
into apartments, having an aperture at the top, and 
31 



242 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

the fire made on the ground under it. Around the 
sides of the yourte, if it is only temporary, are placed 
the baggage and furniture ; if it is not temporary, 
seats for sitting and sleeping upon are ranged around 
the sides. The yourtes in the neighborhood of Rus- 
sian towns and settlements are made a little different- 
ly ; they are sunk two or three feet in the ground, 
square, and divided into apartments, the frame of 
wood, the sides plastered with mud, and a Hat roof 
covered with earth. The fire is in the centre, with a 
slight little chimney. They have two or three little 
windows ; in summer, of talc ; in winter, of ice. One 
apartment of the yourte is for the cow, ox, or horse, 
if the owner should possess any. These yourtes re- 
semble not a tent; but remote from towns all the Tar- 
tars have tents either of skins, bark, or grass. 

" The people in this country, that are born half 
Russ and half Tartar, are very different from the Tar- 
tars or Russ, and much superior to either of them. 
The European nations, that intermarry most with 
other nations, are the handsomest. How far may this 
. cause be supposed to have made the Negro, and the 
Tartar, so different from the European ; or, which is 
more probable, have made the European so different 
from the Tartar and Negro? The Commandant 
showed me recently a man descended from a Yakuti 
father and Russian mother, and the son of this man. 
The color of the first descendant is as fair as the 
second, and both as fair as the Russian mother and 
grandmother. After the first descent, intermarriage 
has a less perceptible effect on the color. This 
change of the color by intermarriage is generally from 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 243 

the darker to the lighter. The color of the hair and, 
eyes also inclines to be light, but does not always ac- 
company the change of color in the skin. Upon the 
whole, as I have said before, with respect to difference 
of color with the Indian and European, they appear to 
me to be the effect of natural causes. I have given 
much attention to the subject on this continent. Tts 
vast extent, and the variety of its inhabitants, afford 
the best field in the world in which to examine it. 
By the same gentle gradation, by which I passed 
from the height of civilization at Petersburg to incivi- 
lization in Siberiay I also passed from the fair Euro- 
pean to the copper colored Tartar ; I say the copper 
colored Tartar, but there is the same variety of color 
among the Tartars in Siberia, as among the other 
nations of the earth. The journal of a Russian offi- 
cer, which I have seen, informs me that the Samoi- 
edes, among whom he lived two years, are fairer than 
the Yakuti, who are of a light olive, and fairer than 
the Tongusians, or the Buretti, who are copper color- 
ed. Yet the three last mentioned tribes are all Mon- 
gul Tartars. The greater part of mankind, compared 
with European civilization, are uncivilized, and this 
part are all darker than the other. There are no 
white savages, and few barbarous people, that are not 
brown or black. 

"The equally distinguishing characteristic of fea- 
ture, in the Tartar face, invites me into a field of obser- 
vation, which 1 am not able at present to give bounds to. 
I must therefore resign it to those, who have leisure 
and a taste for such inquiries, contenting myself with 
furnishing a few facts, and describing this strange dis- 



244 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

similarity in the human face, according to the observa- 
tions I have made. This I should be able to do ana- 
tomically, but I am not. The Tartar face, in the first 
impression it gives, approaches nearer to the African 
than the European ; and this impression is strengthen- 
ed, on a more deliberate examination of the individual 
features, and whole compages of the countenance ; 
yet it is very different from an African face. The 
nose forms a strong feature in the human face. I have 
seen instances among the Kalmuks, where the nose 
between the eyes has been much flatter and broader, 
than I have ever witnessed in Negroes ; and some 
few instances where it has been as broad over the nos- 
trils quite to the end ; but the nostrils in any case are 
much smaller than in Negroes. Where I have seen 
those noses, they were accompanied with a large 
mouth and thick lips ; and these people were genuine 
Kalmuk Tartars. The nose protuberates but little 
from the face, and is shorter than that of the Euro- 
pean. The eyes universally are at a great distance 
from each other, and very small ; at each corner of the 
eye the skin projects over the ball ; the part appears 
swelled ; the eyelids go in nearly a strait line from 
corner to corner. When open, the eye appears as in 
a square frame. The mouth generally, however, is 
of a middling size, and the lips thin. The next re- 
markable features are the cheek bones. These, like 
the eyes, are very remote from each other, high,, broad, 
and withal project a little forward. The face is flat. 
When I look at a Tartar en profile, I can hardly see 
the nose between the eyes, and if he blow a coal of 
fire, I cannot see the nose at all. The face is then 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 245 

like an inflated bladder. The forehead is narrow and 
low. The face has a fresh color, and on the cheek 
bones there is commonly a good ruddy hue. 

" The faces of Tartars have not a variety of ex- 
pression. 1 think the predominating one is pride ; 
but whenever I have viewed them, they have seen a 
stranger. The intermixture by marriage does not 
operate so powerfully in producing a change of fea- 
tures, as of complexion, in favor of Europeans. I 
have seen the third in descent, and the Tartar prevailed 
over the European features. The Tartars from time 
immemorial (I mean the Asiatic Tartars) have be^n 
a people of a wandering disposition. Their converse 
has been more among beasts of the forest, than among 
men ; and when among men, it has only been those 
of their own nation. They have ever been savages, 
averse to civilization, and have never until very lately 
mingled with other nations, and now rarely. What- 
ever cause may have originated their peculiarities of 
features, the reason why they still continue is their 
secluded way of life, which has preserved them from 
mixing with other people. I am ignorant, how far a 
constant society with beasts may operate in changing 
the features, but I am persuaded that this circum- 
stance, together with an uncultivated state of mind, 
if we consider a long and uninterrupted succession of 
ages, must account in some degree for this remarkable 
singularity. 

" Mr John Hunter of London has made, or is mak- 
ing, some anatomical examinations of the head of a 
Negro, which is said externally at least to resemble 
that of a monkey. If I could do it, I would send 



246 LIFE OF JOHN LEUYARD. 

him the head of a Tartar, who lives by the chase, and 
is constantly in the society of animals, which have 
high cheek bones ; and perhaps, on examining such a 
head, he would find an anatomical resemblance to the 
fox, the wolf, the bear, or the dog. I have thought, 
that even in Europe mechanical employments, having 
been continued for a long time among the same peo- 
ple, have had a considerable influence in giving a uni- 
form character to their features. I know of no people, 
among whom there is such a uniformity of features, 
(except the Chinese, the Jews, and the Negroes) as 
among the Asiatic Tartars. They are distinguished, 
indeed, by different tribes, but this is only nominal. 
Nature has not acknowledged the distinction, but, on 
the contrary, marked them, wherever found, with the 
indisputable stamp of Tartars. Whether in Nova 
Zembla, Mongolia, Greenland, or on the banks of the 
Mississippi, they are the same people, forming the 
most numerous, and, if we must except the Chinese, 
the most ancient nation of the globe. But I, for 
myself, do not except the Chinese, because I have no 
doubt of their being of the same family. 

" The Tongusians, the Tchuktchi, the Kuriles, and 
the Nova Zembleans are tattooed. The Mohegan tribe 
of Indians in America practised tattooing. I find as 
yet nothing analagous to the American calumet, except 
in the use of it. The Tartars here, when they smoke 
the pipe, give it round to every one in the company. 
The form of the pipe is universally the identical form 
of the Chinese pipe. I expect to find it in America, 
since the form of the pipe on the tomahock resembles 
it. This form intimates economy, and that the origi- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 247 

nal custom of smoking the pipe was a mere luxury. 
It holds but a very little. The manner, in which the 
Tartars and Chinese use it, corroborates that idea. 
They make but one or two drafts from the pipe, and 
those they swallow, or discharge through the nose, 
and then put the pipe by. They say that the smoke 
thus taken is exhilarating. As the Chinese pipe is 
found universally among the Siberian Tartars, I think 
it probable that the custom of smoking migrated with 
them to America, and thence by Sir Walter Raleigh 
made its way east to England. If so, the custom has 
travelled in a singular manner. Why did it not come 
from the Tartars west to England ? 

" The Asiatic Tartars never change their dress ; it 
is the same on all occasions ; in the field, in the house, 
on a visit, on a holiday. They never have but one 
dress, and that is as fine as they can make it. Those 
that live with the Russians in their villages are above 
mediocrity as to riches, but discover the same indiffer- 
ence about accumulating more, and for the concerns of 
tomorrow, that a North American Indian does. They 
stroll about the village, and, if they can, get drunk, 
smoke their pipe, or go to sleep. The gardens of the 
Russians are cultivated more or less, but theirs lie 
undisturbed. The house of the Russian is a scene of 
busy occupation, filled with furniture, provisions, 
women, children, dirt, and noise ; that of the Tartar 
is as silent and as clean as a mosque. If the season 
admits, the residents are all abroad, unless perhaps an 
old woman or man. There is very little furniture, 
and that rolled up and bound in parcels in a corner of 
the house, and no appearance of provisions. If it 



248 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

happen, that they profess the Russian religion, they 
treat it with strange indifference, not thinkingly, but 
because they do not think at all about it. 

" I have not as yet taken any vocabularies of the 
Tartar languages. If I take any, they will be very 
short ones. Nothing is more apt to deceive than vo- 
cabularies, when taken by an entire stranger. Men 
of scientific curiosity make use of them in investigat- 
ing questions of philosophy, as well as history, and I 
think often with too much confidence, since nothing is 
more difficult, than to take a vocabulary, that shall 
answer any good ends for such a purpose. The dif- 
ferent sounds of the same letters, and of the same 
combinations of letters, in the languages of Europe, 
present an insurmountable obstacle to making a 
vocabulary, which shall be of general use. The dif- 
ferent manner, also, in which persons of the same 
language would write the words of a new language, 
would be such, that a stranger might suppose them to 
be two languages. Most uncultivated languages are 
very difficult to be ortJiographized in another language. 
They are generally guttural ; but when not so, the 
ear of a foreigner cannot accommodate itself to the 
inflection of the speaker's voice, soon enough to catch 
the true sound. This must be done instantaneously ; 
and even in a language with which we are acquainted, 
we are not able to do it for several years. I seize, 
for instance, the accidental moment, when a savage is 
inclined to give me the names of things. The me- 
dium of this conversation is only signs. The savage 
may wish to give me the word for head, and lays his 
hand on the top of his head. I am not certain 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 249 

whether he means the head, or the top of the head, or 
perhaps the hair of the head. He may wish to say 
leg, and puts his hand to the calf. I cannot tell 
whether he means the leg, or the calf, oy flesh, or the 
flesh. There are other difficulties. The island of 
Onalaska is on the coast of America opposite to Asia. 
There are a few Russian traders on it. Being there 
with Captain Cook, I was walking one day on the 
shore in company with a native, who spoke the Rus- 
sian language. I did not understand it. I was writ- 
ing the names of several things, and pointed to the 
ship, supposing he would miderstand that I wanted 
the name of it. He answered me in a phrase, which 
in Russ meant, / know. I wrote down, a ship. I 
gave him some snuff, which he took, and held out his 
hand for more, making use of a word, which signified 
in Russ, a little. I wrote, more. 

" The Asiatic Tartars have different methods of 
hunting the moose, and such kind of game, but the 
most prevalent is like that of American Indians by 
stratagem. So they catch ducks at the mouth of the 
river Kolyma ; so the Otaheitans catch fish some- 
times ; and so the uncivilized parts of mankind war 
against each other. 

" I understand from Captain Billings's Journal, that 
the universal method among the Tchuktchi Indians, 
in the ceremony of marriage, is for the man to pur- 
chase the woman, or make presents to her parents. It 
is also customary for the young man to serve a stipu- 
lated time with the parents of the bride. In case of 
disunion afterwards, Vi^hich happens without passion, 
the presents that have been made are returned. If 
32 



250 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

either party dies, the other marries again as soon as 
convenient ; and the sooner the better, they say, be- 
cause they ought not to lament what can be repaired. 
I suppose the love in this case below that, which ex- 
isted in the bosoms of Eloise and Abelard, and I sup- 
pose the philosophy as much above theirs, as the love 
is below.* 

" All the Asiatic Tartars, like the aborigines of 
America, entertain the same general notions of theo- 
logy, namely, that there is one great and good God, 
and that he is so good that they have no occasion to 
address him for the bestowment of any favors ; and, 
being good, he will certainly do them no injury. But 
they suffer many calamities ; so they say there is 
another being, the source of eyil ; and that he must 
be very powerful, because the evils inflicted on them 
are numerous. To this mischievous deity, therefore, 
they sacrifice. From him they expect no favors, and 
do not ask any, but deprecate his wrath. Their 



* The following description from Dr Clarke's Travels, is applied to 
the Kalrauks where he travelled on the borders of Persia, in the coun- 
try of the Cossacs. " The ceremony of marriag-e," says he, " among 
the Kaliniiks is performed on horseback. A girl is first mounted, who 
rides oif in full speed. Her lover pursues ; if lie overtakes her, she be- 
comes his wife, and the marriage is consummated upon the spot. After 
this she returns with him to his tent. But it sometimes happens, that 
the woman does not wish to marry the person by whom she is pursued ; 
in this case she will not suffer him to overtake her. We were assured, 
that no instance occurs of a Kalmuk girl being thus caught, unless she 
have a partiality for her pursuer. If she dislikes him, she rides, to use 
the language of English sportsmen, neck or nothing, until she has com- 
pletely effected her escape, or until the pursuer's horse becomes ex- 
hausted, leaving her at liberty to return, and to be afterwards chased 
by some more favored admirer." Vol. I. c. 15. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 251 

Shamants, or priests, have therefore nothmg to do 
with the good God ; their business is solely with the 
other, whom they make free to parcel out into a great 
variety of characters, assigning to each evil a presid- 
ing subordinate spirit. This affords the Shamant an 
opportunity of playing his tricks in an extraordinary 
manner. 

" Mr Pennant observes, that the Scythians scalped 
their enemies. I have ever thought, since my voyage 
with Captain Cook, that the same custom under dif- 
ferent forms exists throughout the islands in the Paci- 
fic Ocean. It is worthy of remark, that though the 
Indians at Owhyhee brought a part of Captain Cook's 
head, yet they had cut all the hair off, which they did 
not return to us. I have also frequently observed the 
islanders to wear great quantities of false human hair. 
All savage nations are fond of preserving some badge 
or testimonial of the victory over their enemies, of this 
kind. The ancient Scythians and North American 
Indians have preferred the scalp, and, among the 
South Sea Islanders, teeth and hair are in repute ; all 
of them giving preference to some part of the head. 

" The ivampum, so universally in use among the 
Tartars apparently as an ornament, I cannot but sus- 
pect is used as a substitute for letters in representing 
their language, by a kind of hieroglyphic record. I 
intended to make this a subject of attention, and to 
have drawings taken of the Asiatic and American 
wampum, with the view of comparing them, but have 
not been able to do it. I have seen the initials of a 
Tartar's name worked in the wampum, on the borders 
of his garment. A people having such great respect 



252 LIFE OF JOHiXLEDYARD. 

for their ancestors, as the Tartars have, would natu- 
rally endeavor to preserve some memorials of them." 
Such are the observations of our traveller, on the 
aboriginal inhabitants of Siberian Asia. In consider- 
ing the Kalmuks, Buretti, Tongusians, and Yakuti, as 
descendants of the Monguls, he accords with other 
writers, but he advances a bold and novel opinion in 
classifying all these races with the North American 
Indians, Greenlanders, and the Chinese. It is true, 
the point seems never to have been established, how " 
far the affinities between different tribes, or nations of 
men, must be carried, in order to bring them within 
the same general class. Traditions, ceremonies, bodi- 
ly form and features, habits, laws, religion, and re- 
semblance of languages, must all be taken into the 
account. Where there is a similarity in many of 
these particulars, it may be safely inferred, that the 
people among whom they exist, although inhabiting 
regions remote from each other, have sprung from a 
common origin ; but it does not follow with equal 
probability, that where this similarity is least observa- 
ble, or perhaps unperceived, they are to be set down 
as radically distinct races of men. So innumerable 
are the causes of change, in all these respects, that no 
rule of this sort can be assumed, as applicable to any 
individual case whatever. Customs, laws, pursuits, 
dress, modes of life, vary with the climate and the 
productions of the soil. People, who live by the 
chase and by fishing, will have few of the habits of 
agriculturists. Approaches to civilization will gradu- 
ally introduce a thousand new customs. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 253 

Language has been thought the best criterion, by 
which to judge of the affinity between different races, 
and doubtless it is. That two nations should speak 
languages closely resembling each other, is hardly pos- 
sible, unless they originated from the same stock ; yet 
it can by no means be inferred with as much certainty, 
that, because there is a wide dissimilarity in their lan- 
guages, the sources whence they sprung were as wide- 
ly dissimilar. The same causes, which change the 
habits of men under new circumstances will change 
their language. New words, and new combinations 
of words, will be required to express ideas not known 
before. The intermingling of migratory tribes, speak- 
ing different languages, must also introduce total con- 
fusion, out of which would most likely grow up a 
dialect, bearing little analogy to either of the primitive 
tongues. Let such a process be carried on for many 
generations, by a succession of intermixtures, and 
what clue would there be to guide the inquirer through 
this labyrinth of mutations back to the»first fountain? 
When it is considered, moreover, that all these tongues 
are unwritten and without any recognised principles, 
the perplexity is increased a hundred fold. According to 
recent discoveries, the Tschukchi, the natives inhabit- 
ing the American side of Bering's Strait, the Eski- 
maux, and the Greenlanders, speak languages which 
have many marks of afunity. Their common origin is 
a very natural inference. Ov^'ing to a more recent 
separation, or fewer intermixtures, their language has 
been preserved with something of its primitive form. 
Had the same favorable circumstances attended the 
migrations of other tribes, we might perhaps now trace 



254 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

them to the same source, with as much appearance 
of probability. We might possibly detect similar re- 
semblances between the Iroquois and the Yakuti, the 
Mohegans and the Kamtschadales, and even the Poly- 
nesians and the Kalmuks. In short, the state of the 
question is simply this. Where obvious analogies 
exist, we may affirm a connexion between the tribes 
in which they prevail, at some remote or proximate 
period ; but where they do not exist, we can say 
nothing on the subject. In the latter case we have 
no warrant for deciding one way or the other. 

Taken in this view, no w^ell founded objection can 
be advanced against Ledyard's opinion, although it 
would not be easy to establish it by a consecutive 
series of proofs. It was the result of a long observa- 
tion of general appearances, rather than of a minute 
and methodical research. It was not with him an idle 
speculation, indulged for the moment, and then dis- 
missed. After his return from Siberia, he reiterated 
the same sentiments. In connexion with a short ac- 
count of his travels, he writes to a friend in these 
emphatic words. 

" You will please to accept these two observations, 
as the result of extensive and assiduous inquiry. 
They are with me well ascertained facts. ,The first 
is, that the difference of color in the human species 
(as the observation applies to all but the Negroes, 
whom I have not visited) originates from natural 
causes. The second is, that all the Asiatic Indians, 
called Tartars, and all the Tartars, who formed the 
later armies of Genghis Khan, together wath the 
Chinese, are the same people, and that the American 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 255 

Tartar is also of the same family ; the most ancient 
and numerous people on earth, and the most uniformly 
alike." 

In this place may be inserted, also, his remarks to 
Mr Jefferson, in a letter written nearly at the same 
time with the above. After reiterating his opinion, 
in regard to the causes of the difference of color in 
the human race, he continues ; 

"I am certain, that all the people you call red 
people on the continent of America, and on the conti- 
nents of Europe and Asia, as far south as the southern 
parts of China, are all one people, by whatever names 
distinguished, and that the best general name would 
be Tartar. I suspect that all red people are of the 
same family. T am satisfied, that America was peo- 
pled from Asia, and had some, if not all, its animals 
from thence. 

" I am satisfied, that the great general analogy in 
the customs of men can only be accounted for, by 
supposing them all to compose one family ; and, by 
extending the idea, and uniting customs, traditions, 
and history, I am satisfied, that this common origin 
was such, or nearly, as related by Moses, and com- 
monly believed among the nations of the earth. 
There is, also, a transposition of things on the globe, 
that must have been produced by some cause equal to 
the effect, which is vast and curious. Whether I re- 
pose on arguments drawn from facts observed by my- 
self, or send imagination forth to find a cause, they 
both declare to me a general deluge." 

It will be perceived, that he uses the word Tartar 
in a broader sense, than is commonly given to it, em- 



256 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

bracing not only all the northern Asiatic races and the 
Chinese, but likewise the aborigines of North Ameri- 
ca. Pallas says, that even the Monguls and Kalmuks 
are not rightly called Tartars, and that these latter 
people are different from the former in their origin, 
customs, political establishments, and the lineaments 
of their features. They inhabit the northern regions 
of Thibet, and western Siberia, never mingling with 
the Kalmuks. These facts in no degree affect Led- 
yard's use of the word. He employs it as a general 
term, and in a definite manner, without regard to its 
original meaning. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. '251 



CHAPTER XI. 

Climate in Siberia. — Extreme cold.— Congelation of quicksilver. — Images in 
Russian houses.— Attention paid to dogs.— Ice windows.— Jealousy of the 
Russians. — Moral condition of the Russians in Siberia. — Ledyard's celebrated 
eulogy on women. — Captain Billings meets him at Yakutsk, on his return 
from the Frozen Ocean. — Bering's discovery of the strait called after his 
name. — Russian voyages of discovery. — Bering's death. — Russian fur trade. — 
Billings's expedition. — His incompetency to the undertaking. — His insti-uc- 
tions nearly the same as those drawn up by Peter the Great for Bering. — 
Some of their principal features enumerated. 

A FEW Other selections on miscellaneous topics will 
now be made from that part of the journal, which 
was written at Yakutsk. 

" At Kazan there is abundance of snow ; at Irkutsk, 
which is in about the same latitude, very little. Here 
at Yakutsk the atmosphere is constantly charged with 
snow; it sometimes falls, but very sparingly, and that 
in the daytime ; rarely, if ever, at night. The air is 
much like that which we experienced with Captain 
Cook in mare glaciali, between the latitudes of 
seventy and seventytwo ; seldom a serene sky, or de- 
tached clouds ; the upper region is a dark, still, ex- 
panded vapor, with few openings in it. The lower 
atmosphere contains clouds floating over head, resem- 
bling fog-banks. In general the motion of everything 
above and below is languid. The summers are said 
to be dry ; the days very hot, nights cold, and the 
weather exceedingly changeable, subject to high winds 
generally from the north, and soiietimes heavy snows 
in August. I have seen but one aurora borealis, and 
that not an extraordinary one. 
33 



258 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" The people in Yakutsk have no wells. They 
have tried them to a very great depth, but they freeze 
even in summer ; consequently they have all their 
water from the river. But in winter they cannot 
bring water in its fluid state ; it freezes on the way. 
It is then brought in large cakes of ice to their 
houses, and piled up in their yards. As water is 
wanted,' they bring these pieces of ice into the warm 
rooms where they thaw, and become fit for use. Milk 
is brought to market in the same way. A Yakuti 
came into our house today with a bag full of ice. 
* What,' said I to Laxman, ' has the man brought ice 
to sell in Siberia ? ' It was milk. Clean mercury 
exposed to the air is now constantly frozen. By 
repeated observations 1 have found in December, that 
two ounces of quicksilver openly exposed have frozen 
hard in fifteen minutes. It may be cut with a knife, 
like lead. Strong cogniac brandy coagulated. A ther- 
mometer, filled with rectified spirits of wine, indicated 
thirtynine and a half degrees on Reaumur's scale. 
Captain Billings had, on the borders of the Frozen 
Ocean the winter before last, fortythree degrees and 
,three fourths by the same thermometer. In these 
severe frosts the air is condensed, like a thick fog. 
The atmosphere itself is frozen ; respiration is fatigu- 
ing ; all exercise must be as moderate as possible ; 
one's confidence is in his fur dress. It is a happy 
provision of nature, that in such intense colds there is 
seldom any wind ; when there is, it is dangerous to 
be abroad. In these seasons, there is no chase ; the 
animals submit themselves to hunger and security, and 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 259 

SO does man. All nature groans beneath the rigorous 
winter.* 

" The first settlers here [Russians] came round by 
the North Sea, about two hundred and fifty years ago. 
A gentleman showed me today a copy of a marriage 
contract done at Moscow, two hundred and five years 
ago. It is a folio page, and there are only sixteen 
words intelligible to. an ordinary reader, which corre- 
spond to the orthography of the present day. Many 
instances of longevity occur in this place. There is 
a man one hundred and ten years old, who is in per- 
fect health, and labors daily. The images in the 
Russian houses, which I should take for a kind of 
household gods, are very expensive. The principal 
ones have a great deal of silver lavished on them. 
To furnish out a house properly with these Dii Mino- 
res, would cost a large sura. When burnt out, as I 
have witnessed several times, the people have appear- 
ed more anxious for these, than for anything else. 

* The following is the statement of Captain Cochrane, respecting 
the degree of cold at the river Kolyma, which he visited in the winter 
of 1820-91. " The weather proved exceedingly cold in January and 
February, but never so severe as to prevent our walks, except during 
those times when the wind was high ; it then became insupportable out 
of doors, and we were obliged to remain at home. Forty degrees of 
frost of Fahrenheit never appear to affect us in calm weather, so much 
as ten or fifteen during the time of a breeze. Fortythree of Reaumur, 
or seventyseven of Fahrenheit, have been repeatedly known. I will, 
also, add my testimony from experiment to the extent o£ fortytwo. I 
have also seen the minute book of a gentleman at Yakutsk, where 
fortyseven of Reaumur were registered, equal to eightyfour of Fahren- 
heit." 

By various experiments it has been proved, that mercury congeals at 
fhirtytivo degrees below zero of Reaumur's scale, and forty of Fahren- 
heit's. 



260 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

The images form almost the whole decoration of the 
churches, and those melted in one of them just burnt 
down, are estimated to have been worth at least thirty 
thousand roubles. The warm bath is used by the 
peasantry here early in liie, from which it is common 
for them to plunge into the river, and if there happens 
to be new fallen snow, they come naked from the 
bath and wallow therein. Dances are accompanied, 
or rather performed, by the same odd twisting and 
writhing of the hi}3s, as at Otaheite. 

" Dogs are here esteemed nearly in the same de- 
gree, that horses are in England ; for besides answer- 
ing the same purpose in travelling, they aid the people 
in the chase, and, after toiling for them the whole 
day, become their safeguard at night. Indeed they 
command the greatest attention. There are dog far- 
riers to attend them in sickness, who are no despicable 
rivals in ait, at least in pretension, to the horse doc- 
tors of civilized Europe. Dogs also command a high 
price. What they call a leading dog of prime charac- 
ter will sell for three or four hundred roubles. 

" Every body in Yakutsk has two kinds of win- 
dows, the one for summer, and the other for winter. 
Those for the latter season are of many different 
forms and materials; but all are so covered with ice 
on the inside, that the}' are not transparent, and are 
so far useless. You can see nothing without, not even 
the body of the sun at noon. Ice is most commonly 
used for windows in winter, and talc in summer. 
These afford a gloomy kind of light within, that serves 
for orduiary purposes. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 261 

" The Russ dress in this region is Asiatic ; long, 
loose, and of the mantle kind, covering almost every 
part of the body. It is a dress not originally calcu- 
lated for the latitude they inhabit. Within doors the 
Russian is Asiatic ; without, European. The Em- 
press gives three ranks to officers that come into Sibe- 
ria, and serve six years ; two while out from Peters- 
burg, and one on their return. It has two important 
effects, one to civilize Siberia, and the other to prosti- 
tute rank. I have before my eyes the most consum- 
mate scoundrels in the universe, of a rank that in any 
civilized country would be a signal of the best virtues 
of the heart and the head, or at least of common 
honesty and common decency. The succession of 
these characters is every six years. 

" So strong is the propensity of the Russians to 
jealousy, that they are guilty of the lowest offences 
on that account. The observation may appear trivial, 
but an ordinary Russian will be displeased, if one 
even endeavors to gain the good will of his dog. I 
affronted the Commandant of this town very highly, by 
permitting his dog to walk with me one afternoon. 
He expostulated with me very seriously about it. 
This is not the only instance. I live with a young 
Russian officer, with whom 1 came from Irkutsk. 
No circumstance has ever interrupted the harmony 
between us, but his dogs. They have done it twice. 
A pretty little puppy he has, came to me one day, and 
jumped upon my knee. I patted his head, and gave 
him some bread. The man flew at the dog in the 
utmost rage, and gave him a blow, which broke his 
leg. The lesson I gave him on the occasion has almost 



262 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

cured him, for I bid him beware how he disturbed my 
peace a third time by this rascally passion. 

" 1 have observed from Petersburg to this place, 
that the Russians in general have few moral virtues. 
The bulk of the people are almost without any. The 
laws of the country are mostly penal laws ; but all 
laws of this kind are little else than negative instructers. 
They inform the people what they shall not do, and 
affix the penalty to the transgression ; but they do not 
inform people what they ought to do, and affix the re- 
ward to virtue. Untaught in the sublime of morality, 
the Russian has not that glorious basis on which to 
exalt his nature. This, in some countries, is made 
the business of religion ; and, in others, of the civil 
laws. In this unfortunate country, it is the business 
of neither civil nor ecclesiastical concernment. A 
citizen here fulfils his duty to the laws, if, like a base 
Asiatic, he licks the feet of his superior in rank ; and 
his duty to his God, if he fills his house with a set of 
ill looking brass and silver saints, and worships them. 
It is for these reasons, that the peasantry in particular 
are the most unprincipled in Christendom. I hav-e 
looked for certain virtues of the heart, that are called 
natural. I find them not in the most obscure villages 
of the empire. On the contrary, I find the rankest 
vices to abound there, as much as in the capital 
itself." 

A few isolated facts will now be added, which he 
collected chiefly from the information of others, but 
which he deemed worthy of a place in his journal. 

" The Tongusians are tattooed. The Samoiedes 
have the double headed paddle. They fish with nets 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 263 

under the ice. The Biiietti have the Mahometan 
lock of hair. The Kuriles are tattooed. A journal 
of a Russian officer says they are very hairy. They 
traffic with the Japanese in feathers and fish. The 
islands have little vegetation. The people are reserv- 
ed in conversation ; they are comely ; have their 
materials for boat and house building from the conti- 
nent, or from the Japanese. They are very wild, and 
receive strangers with the most threatening and formal 
appearance, but afterwards they are kind and hospita- 
ble. The coast of the Frozen Ocean is full of trees 
and driftwood for five versts out. It is remarked by 
the Russians, that since their knowledge of those 
regions, the land has increased towards the sea, and 
driven it northwards, a circumstance attributable per- 
haps to the large rivers, that empty themselves there. 
— Informed that the custom of staining the nails of 
the fingers of a scarlet color, is common near the Cas- 
pian and Black seas. I saw one instance of it in the 
neighborhood of Kazan. It is likewise a custom 
among the Cochin Chinese. I saw it at the island of 
Perlo Condor. The custom of calling John the son 
of John, Alexander the son of Alexander, prevails 
among the Russians." 

The preceding selections embrace nearly all that is 
contained in the journal, under the dates of his resi- 
dence at Yakutsk, except the celebrated eulogy on 
women, which was likewise written at that place. 
This beautiful and touching tribute to the superiority 
of the female character, is the more to be valued, as 
coming from one whose sphere of observation and 
experience had been such, as to enable him to speak 



264 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 

with confidence, and whose smcerity cannot be sus- 
pected. It is the simple effusion of a grateful heart, 
recorded in his private journal, not intended for the 
public eye, and obviously written, like the rest of the 
manuscript compositions left behind him, without any 
other design, than to quicken his own recollections, or 
perhaps amuse his intimate friends in a vacant hour. 
This eulogy was first printed, shortly after the author's 
death, in the Transactions of the African Association, 
in which it was inserted by Mr Beaufoy, secretary to 
that body, who then had the Siberian journal in his 
possession. It has often been reprinted, and univer- 
sally admired, not more for the sentiments it contains, 
and the genuine feeling that pervades it, than for 
its terse and appropriate language. The original has 
been altered in some of the transcripts. It is here 
introduced as found in the journal. 

" I have observed among all nations, that the 
women ornament themselves more than the men ; 
that, wherever found, they are the same kind, civil, 
obliging, humane, tender beings ; that they are ever 
inclined to be gay and cheeiful, timorous and modest. 
They do not hesitate, like man, to perform a hospita- 
ble or generous action ; not haughty, nor arrogant, 
nor supercilious, but full of courtesy and fond of 
society ; industrious, economical, ingenuous ; more 
liable in general to err than man, but in general, also, 
more virtuous, and performing more good actions 
than he. I never addressed myself in the language 
of decency and friendship to a w oman, whether civi- 
lized or savage, without receiving a decent and friend- 
ly answer. With man it has often been otherwise. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 265 

In wandering *over the barren plains of inhospitable 
Denmark, through honest Sweden, frozen Lapland, 
rude and churlish Fhiland, unprincipled Russia, and 
the wide spread regions of the wandering Tartar, if 
hungry, dry, cold, wet, or sick, woman has ever been 
friendly to me, and uniformly so ; and to add to this 
virtue, so worthy of the appellation of benevolence, 
these actions have been performed in so free and so 
kind a manner, that, if I was dry, I drank the sweet 
draught, and, if hungry, ate the coarse morsel, with a 
double relish." 

By these specimens of his journal, we may judge 
how the traveller employed himself at Yakutsk, dur- 
ing the weary days of his compulsory residence there. 
He had not been quite two months in this town, when 
Captain Billings arrived from his expedition to the 
river Kolyma, and the frozen ocean. An intimate ac- 
quaintance had formerly subsisted between Ledyard 
and Billings. The latter had been an assistant to the 
Astronomer Bayly, during the whole of Cook's last 
voyage. He was now employed under the orders of 
the Empress of Russia, on a mission for exploring the 
northeastern regions of her territories, and for prose- 
cuting discoveries in geography and natural science, 
Billings was much surprised at meeting his old ac- 
quaintance in the heart of Siberia, not having heard 
from him since their separation at the close of the 
vovage. Meantime he had entered the Russian ser- 
vice, and by a concurrence of favorable circumstances, 
not easy to be accounted for, had obtained the com- 
mand of a very important expedition. Ledyard was 
no doubt glad to meet a person, in this rude quarter of 
34 



266 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

the world, who could speak his own language, and 
who had some recollections in common with himself; 
but, in other respects, the companionship was not such, 
as to promote his advantage, or his enjoyment. Bil- 
lings gave no proof, that he was competent to the 
high trust reposed in him by the Russian government, 
or that he possessed qualities suited to win the esteem 
of his associates. 

A few remarks, relating to the purposes of the ex- 
pedition just alluded to, may very well be introduced 
in this place, as in some of its parts it was more or 
less in unison with the designs of the American trav- 
eller. Russian enterprise had by no means been back- 
ward in pushing discoveries to the east and north, 
even at a comparatively early period. About the 
middle of the seventeenth century, Deschneff and his 
companions passed down the Kolyma, sailed along the 
coast of the Tchuktchi country in the Icy Sea, and 
thence discovered a route by land from this coast to 
Anadir. Other adventures were undertaken, and dis- 
coveries made at successive periods, by Staduchin, 
Markoff, Willegin, and Amossoff. But the journeys 
and voyages of these persons had extended only to the 
Tchuktchi territory, Anadir, Kamtschatka, the Kurile 
Islands, and to the neighboring seas. Neither the 
Strait, which separates Asia from America, nor any 
part of the American coast on the northwest, nor the 
Aleutian Islands, had been visited before the year 1728, 
when Captain Bering made his voyage of discovery. 
This voyage was planned by Peter the Great, who 
Avrote out with his own hand the instructions for the 
commander. He died before they were put in exe- 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 267 

cution, but the Empress, who succeeded him, car- 
ried the original design into effect. Captain Bering 
was despatched to Kamtschatka, with orders to con- 
struct two vessels there, and to sail in them for the 
purpose of examining the coast towards the east and 
north, and of ascertaining, if possible, whether Asia 
and America were separated by the ocean. In the 
year abovementioned he made this voyage, and dis- 
covered the strait, to which his name has been given. 
He kept so close to the x'Vsiatic shore, that he did not 
see the American coast, but he sailed northward 
till, on doubling a cape, he saw an open sea before 
him, which presented a boundless horizon to the north 
and west, and convinced him that the two continents 
nowhere came in contact with each other. The sea- 
son was far advanced, and he returned to the river of 
Kamtschatka, where he wintered. 

The success of this voyage was such, as to encour- 
age the government to undertake others. A plan was 
formed for navigating the whole northern coast of 
Russia, from Archangel to Kamtschatka. Several 
expeditions were fitted out for this purpose from Arch- 
angel, the mouths of the Ob, Yenissey, Lena, and 
Kolyma, and after incredible sufferings by (he officers 
and men engaged in them, and the loss of a great 
many lives in those terrific regions of cold and priva- 
tion, all further attempts were abandoned. Some 
new portions of the coast were examined, but much 
remained unexplored, and has continued so to this 
day. No passage has been effected entirely round 
the north coast of Asia, any more than round that of 
America* 



268 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

Twelve jears after his first discovery, Bering made 
another voyage, fell in with the Aleutian Islands, ex- 
plored the American coast for a considerable distance, 
and discovered and named Mount Saint Elias. In 
returning to Kamtschatka at the beginning of winter, 
he was driven in distress upon an island near the 
Asiatic coast, where he and several of his men died. 
The island has since borne his name. The remnant 
of his crew arrived in the spring at Kamtschatka. 

From this period the Russians kept up an active 
fur trade, from Okotsk and Kamtschatka, with the 
natives of the Aleutian Islands, but voyages of dis- 
covery ceased for a long time. A tribute in furs was 
collected for the Russian government from tlie natives, 
by the traders who went among them, and authentic 
accounts are related of barbarities practised by the 
latter against the former, in their exactions of labor in 
procuring furs, equalling in cruelty the servitude of 
the mitas, inflicted by the Spaniards in South America 
on the Indians, whom they compelled to work in the 
mines. The party of traders, whom Ledyard visited 
at Onalaska, however, cannot be brought under this 
imputation in its full extent, for he describes them as 
kind to the natives, whom he saw^ with them. It is 
to be considered, nevertheless, that the cruelties were 
principally suifered by those, who were sent abroad to 
hunt and trap, and made to endure cold, and hunger, 
and all the severities of the climate. These sufferers 
would not come under the traveller's observation, in 
the short time that he remained with the traders at 
Onalaska. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 269 

Such was the state of the Russian fur trade on the 
American coast, from the date of Bering's last discov- 
eries, till that of Cook's voyage to the northern polar 
seas, a period of about forty years. During that 
space the government appears to have paid no atten- 
tion to the subject, except to take care that its 
agents at Okotsk and Kamtschatka gathered tribute 
fiom the islands. But when Cook's last voyage 
began to make a noise in Europe, and his discoveries 
on the Northwest Coast of America and in the 
adjoining seas to be known, the sagacious Catherine 
was quick to perceive, that her interests were in- 
volved in the affair, and that it was time for her to 
look to these remote and hitherto neglected parts of 
her dominions. In short, an expedition was planned 
on a large and liberal scale, and it was resolved, 
that, in preparing for it, nothing shojdd be spared, 
which w'as necessary to combine in it all possible 
facilities for prosecuting discoveries, both by land and 
by sea. 

Professor Pallas, who was a favorite with the Em- 
press, and who had travelled in Siberia under her 
patronage, was particularly instrumental in suggesting 
and maturing this plan. The choice of a commander 
was an important consideration, and this was at last 
effected wholly through the interest of the Professor. 
Mr Billings, who had recently obtained a lieutenancy 
in the Russian service, had found means to insinuate 
himself into the favor of Pallas, and to impress him 
with a high opinion of his understanding and knowl- 
edge ; in which he discovered, however, after it was 
too late, that he was unfortunately mistaken. The 



270 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

circumstance of this lieutenant having been with 
Cook, in the regions that were to be explored, filling 
a station which gave him some pretensions to a 
science, was thought to be a strong recommendation ; 
and so it would have been, if in more important 
respects he had possessed the qualities of a com- 
mander, and a man of enterprise. In these he was 
singularly deficient ; as was fully demonstrated in the 
sequel of the expedition. He was appointed to the 
command, and left Petersburg for Siberia in October, 
1785, about eighteen months before Ledyard arrived 
in the Russian capital. 

The instructions to Billings were so well drawn up, 
that they deserve a passing notice. They were pre- 
pared on the basis of those, which had been written 
by Peter the Great for Captain Bering. Every pro- 
vision was made for the advancement of science and 
geographical knowledge, as well as for extending the 
influence of the Russian government in remote and 
unknown parts. The great specific objects were, to 
determine the latitude and longitude of the mouth of 
the river Kolyma, and the line of coast from that 
point to the East Cape in Bering's Strait ; the con- 
struction of an exact chart of the Eastern Ocean, and 
the islands between Asia and America ; and the at- 
tainment of all such knowledge of those regions as 
might serve to illustrate the reign of her Imperial 
Majesty, by improving the condition and promoting 
the happiness of the natives inhabiting those distant 
lands, and by collecting and diffusing new truths of 
science, for the general benefit of mankind. 

The instructions for scientific researches were mi- 
nute, perspicuous, and explicit. Professor Pallas was 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 271 

much consulted in preparing them. And, indeed, the 
separate articles for the naturalist, drawn up with 
admirable precision and method, were entirely from 
his pen, and issued with his signature. Observations 
in geography and meteorology, exact delineations of 
charts, and notes of electrical phenopiena, variations 
of the needle, and of barometrical and thermometrical 
changes, were expressly required. The various de- 
partments of the animal, vegetable, and mineral king- 
doms were also particularized, and the utmost care 
enjoined in collecting specimens, and forwarding them 
to Petersburg. Drawings were to be made of 
curious and extraordinary objects. The manners, dis- 
position, and occupations of the natives were to be 
described, and also their modes of living, government, 
religions, their dresses, arms, and manufactures. 
Moreover, vocabularies of their languages were order- 
ed to be made, according to a model previously fur- 
nished. The commander, the naturalist, and all the 
principal officers, were directed to keep journals for 
the future inspection of the Admiralty. 

Another feature in these instructions deserves to be 
mentioned. In case any savage tribes should be dis- 
covered, who had not been acquainted w ith civilized 
people, it w^as positivi^ly ordered, that they should 
be treated with kindness, and that the best means 
should be used to conciliate their good opinion. They 
were never to be approached in a hostile way, 
unless such a step should appear absolutely necessary 
for self defence. On this point the instructions are 
as full and definite as on others, and breathe a spirit 
of humanity, which, if it had been uniformly felt and 



272 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

acted upon by discoverers, would have prevented in- 
numerable scenes of bloodshed and misery, which 
have marked the early intercourse between civilized 
and savage men. 

Captain Billings was allowed to select his own offi- 
cers and privates, and, as an encouragement to all the 
persons engaged, much higher pay was granted, than 
was usual in the regular service, with the promise of 
additional rewards. The officers were to be promoted 
as the enterprise advanced, and particularly at its con- 
clusion. The Governor General of Irkutsk was or- 
dered to render all needful assistance, and unite his 
best efforts with those of the commander to execute 
the designs of the Empress. No expedition was ever 
more liberally provided, and none ever commenced 
under better auspices. 

When Ledyard met Billings at Yakutsk, he had 
been more than two years absent from Petersburg, 
and had spent the preceding season at the mouth of 
the river Kolyma, attempting to pass along the coast 
in boats constructed for the purpose. The ice threat- 
ened him, and he accomplished nothino;, though his 
lieutenant was extremely desirous to push forward, at 
a time when, to all but the commander, there seemed 
a prospect of success. He had now returned, with 
the intention of going to Irkutsk, and there superin- 
tending the transportation of various articles to 
Okotsk, where they were wanted for preparing the 
vessels, in which he expected to make a voyage to 
the American coast in the following summer. This 
was the opportunity, which Ledyard hoped to em- 
brace for securing his passage from one continent to 
the other. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 273 



CHAPTER XII. 

Ledyard departs from Yakutsk, and returns to Irkutsk up the Lena on the ice . — Is 
seized by order of the Empress, and hurried off in the charge of two guards. — 
Returns through Siberia to Kazan. — His remarks on the peculiarity of his 
fate. — Further observations on the Tartars. — No good account of them has 
ever been written. — Passes Moscow and arrives in Poland. — Left by his 
guards, with an injunction never to appear again in Russia. — Health much 
impaired by his sufferings. — Proceeds to Konigsberg, and thence to London. — 
Inquiry into the motives of the Empress for her cruel treatment of him. — Her 
pretences of humanity not to be credited. — Her declaration to Count Segur 
on the subject. — Dr Clarke's explanation incorrect. — The tme cause was the 
jealousy of the Russian American Fur Company, by whose influence his recall 
was procured from the Empress. — Lafayette's remark on her conduct in this 
particular. 

That we may not anticipate events, we will again 
take up our traveller at Yakutsk, where we left him 
with Captain Billings, then just returned from the 
Kolyma, near the end of November. Here they lived 
together about five weeks. Meantime Billings was 
making preparation for his journey to Irkutsk, and in- 
vited Ledyard to accompany him thither. This invi- 
tation he readily accepted, since it was impossible for 
him to proceed to Okotsk before spring ; nor indeed 
would any object be gained by such a journey, till 
Captain Billings himself should return to that place, 
and his vessels be got in readiness, for no chance of a 
passage was likely to offer at an earlier date. Ac- 
cordingly he joined Captain Billings's party, which 
left Yakutsk on the twentyninth of December, and 
travelled in sledges up the river Lena on the ice. 
With such speed did they move forward by this mode 
of conveyance, that they reached Irkutsk in seventeen 
35 



274 LIFE OF JOHxN LEDYARD. 

clays, having passed over a distance of fifteen hundred 
miles. Ledjard's voyage down the river in a canoe 
had taken up tvventytwo days. 

Nothing is found recorded in his journal, during this 
second visit to Irkutsk. In Sauer's account of Bil- 
lings's expedition, the fate which overtook him there is 
made known to us, and the manner in which he sub- 
mitted to it. 

" In the evening of the twentyfourth of February," 
says Saner, " while I was playing at cards with the 
brigadier and som« company of his, a secretary be- 
longing to one of the courts of justice came in, and 
told us with great concern, that the Governor General 
had received positive orders from the Empress, imme- 
diately to send one of the expedition, an Englishman, 
under guard to the private Inquisition at Moscow^ but 
that he did not know the name of the person, and 
that Captain Billings was with a private party at the 
Governor General's. Now, as Ledyard and I were 
the only Englishmen here, I could not help smil- 
ing at the news, when two hussars came into the 
room, and told me, that the Commandant wished to 
speak to me immediately. The consternation into 
which the visitors were thrown is not to be described. 
I assured them, that it must be a mistake, and went 
with the guards to the Commandant. 

" There I found Mr Ledyard under arrest. He 
told me, that he had sent to Captain Billings, but he 
would not come to him. He then began to explain 
his situation, and said he was taken up as a French 
spy, whereas Captain Billings could prove the contrary, 
but he supposed that he knew nothing of the matter, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 275 

and requested that I would inform him. I did so, 
but the Captain assured me, that it was an absolute 
order from the Empress, and that he could not help 
him. He, however, sent him a few roubles, and gave 
him a pelisse ; and I procured him his linen quite wet 
from the wash-tub. Ledjard took a friendly leave of 
me, desired his remembrance to his friends, and with as- 
tonishing composure leaped into the kibitka, and drove 
off, with two guards, one on each side. I wished to 
travel with him a little way, but was not permitted. 
I therefore returned to my company, and explained 
the matter to them ; but though this eased their minds 
with regard to my fate, it did not restore I heir har- 
mony." * 

One w^ord more only needs be added respecting 
Billings. He went to Okotsk in the summer, made 
a voyage to the Aleutian Islands, and thence to Be- 
ring's Strait. From the bay of St Lawrence he 
passed across the Tchuktchi country to the river Koly- 
ma by land, whence he proceeded to Yakutsk, and at 
length returned to Petersburg, after an absence of 
seven or eight years. No evidence exists, that his 
labors were of any service to Russia or to the world, 
either in the field of discovery, or the departments of 
science. Sauer's book has made his incompetency 
notorious. The misfortune was, that this should have 
been found out so late. Captain Burney, who was 
well acquainted with Billings while on Cook's voyage, 
observes, in alluding to Ledyard's arrest, " If the Em- 



* See Sauer's Account of a Geographical and Astronomical Expedi- 
tion to the Northern Parts of Russia, &c. p. 100. 



276 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

press had understood the characters of the two men, 
the commander of the expedition would probably have 
been ordered to Moscow, and Ledyard, instead of 
being denied entertainment in her service, have been 
appointed to supply his place." * 

Being now a prisoner, Ledyard was under the entire 
control of his two guards, who conducted him, with 
all the speed with which horses and sledges could 
convey them, towards Moscow, exposed to the ex- 
treme rigors of a Siberian winter. In such a situa- 
tion, it cannot be presumed, that he would have either 
the heart or leisure to write in his journal. A few 
particulars only are recorded, and to these a place will 
now be given. Dates are rarely noted. The follow- 
ing was apparently written soon after he left Irkutsk. 

" My ardent hopes are once more blasted, — the 
almost half accomplished wish. What secret machi- 
nations have been at work ? What motive ? But so 
it suits her royal Majesty of all the Russias, and she 
has riothing but her pleasure to consult ; she has no 
nation's resentment to apprehend, for I am the minis- 
ter of no state, no monarch. I travel under the com- 
mon flag of humanity, commissioned by myself to 
serve the world at large ; and so the poor, the unpro- 
tected wanderer must go where sovereign will or- 
dains; if to death, why then my journeying will be 
over sooner, and rather differently from what I con- 
terrplated ; if otherwise, why then the royal dame 
has taken me much out of my way. But I may pur- 



* Burney's Chronological History of the Northeastern Voyages of 
Discovery, p. 279. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 277 

sue another route. The rest of the world lies uuin- 
terdicted. Though born hi the freest of the civilized 
countries, yet, io the present state of privation, I have 
a more exquisite sense of the amiable, the immortal 
nature of liberty, than I ever had before. It would 
be excellently qualifying, if every man, who is called 
to preside over the liberties of a people, should once — 
it would be enough — actually be deprived of his lib- 
erty unjustly. He would be avaricious of it, more 
than of any other earthly possession. I could love a 
country and its inhabitants, if it were a country of 
freedom. There are two kinds of people I could 
anathematize, with a better weapon than St Peter's ; 
those who dare deprive others of their liberty, and 
those who suffer others to do it." 

Again he writes, some days after the above, having 
escaped from Siberia ; 

" I am now at Kazan ; it is nine months since I 
left this place on my tour eastward, and I am nine 
times more fully satisfied, than I was before, of some 
circumstances mentioned in my diary in June last. 
As I was fond of the subjects I have been in pursuit 
of, I was apprehensive that I might have been rash 
and premature in some of my opinions, but I certainly 
have not been. I am now fully convinced, that the 
difference of color in man is solely the effect of natural 
causes, and that a mixture by intermarriage and habits 
would in time make the species in this respect uni- 
form. I have never extended my opinion, and do not 
now, to the Negroes ; but should I live to visit them, 
I shall expect to find the same data, leading to the 
same conclusion, namely, that they are like the other 



278 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

two classes of" man, which I call by the general terms 
of white people and Indians. There are many rea- 
sons, that rise naturally from the observations on my 
present voyage, which induce me to think so, yet I 
still wish to have better. I expect, however, the re- 
sult will be, that I shall find the same causes existing 
in Africa to render the Negro blacker than the Indian, 
as in Asia to render the Indian darker than the Euro- 
pean. 

" With respect to the national, or genealogical con- 
nexion, which the remarkable affinity of person and 
manners bespeaks between the Indians on this, and 
on the American continent, I declare my opinion to 
be, without the least scruple, and with the most abso- 
lute conviction, that the Indians on the one and on the 
other are the same people. As to the origin and his- 
tory of the great Tartar Nation^ little has been essay- 
ed ; very little is known even of the extent of their 
country. Albugassi, himself a noble Tartar, has said 
much the most and best of their origin, and something 
of their extent ; but very unsatisfactorily as to this 
latter, for in truth he knew but little about it. Like a 
soldier, he has written a kind of muster roll of his 
countrymen. I do not remember anything like philo- 
sophical research in his history, though I read him 
with avidity. Among the voyagers in this country, 
even the most modern, I have, instead of more, still 
less information. A few vocabularies to lead astray 
those, who would wish to find real knowledge, and an 
account of a few customs, without any remarks on 
them, constitute nearly the amount of the whole. 
There is, indeed, very little of value said about this 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 279 

great people by any writers. The late contest about 
the contiguity, or junction, of Asia and America, has 
accidentally struck out a few observations, and one 
now and then finds something philosophically said of 
them, but very unphilosophically placed among quad- 
rupeds, fish, fowls, plants, minerals, and fossils. 
When the history of Asia, and I add of America, be- 
cause there is an intimate connexion between them, 
shall be as well known as that of Europe, it will be 
found, that those, who have written the history of 
man, have begun at the wrong end." 

What passed at the private Inquisition of Moscow, 
when Ledyard and his guards arrived in that city, 
there is no record to explain. Since nothing is said 
of the matter, it is probable, that, if he was taken at 
all before that body, no specific charges were substan- 
tiated, or even preferred, as in truth none could exist. 
The idea of a French spy in Siberia was an absurdity 
too gross, to be formally urged as a reason for his ar- 
rest, although this had been given out at Irkutsk. 
What was there in Siberia, either for a Frenchman, or 
a native of any other country to spy ? Was the Em- 
press afraid, that the French were plotting a crusade 
into those frozen and sterile regions, to rescue her 
miserable exiles, who were suffering there the penal- 
ties of their crimes, or the effects of imperial indig- 
nation for their projects of ambition and aggran- 
dizement in Petersburg ? It was not likely that 
France, or any other nation, would covet the control 
of such subjects, or of such a land. This pretence of 
a French spy originated at Irkutsk, where it was con- 
venient that some false report should be circulated 



280 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

respecting the cause of Wis arrest, as will shortl}^ be 
made manifest. Ledyard again writes, 

" I am now two hundred and twenty versts from 
Moscow, on the road to Poland. Thank Heaven, 
petticoats appear, and the glimmerings of other fea- 
tures. Women are the sure harbingers of an altera- 
tion in manners, in approaching a country where their 
influence is felt. But wampum, or, if you will, beads, 
tassels, rings, fringes, and eastern gewgaws, prevail 
as much here as in Siberia. 

" I am at the city of Neeshna, in a vile, dark, dirty, 
gloomy, damp room ; it is called quarters, but it is a 
miserable prison. The soldiers, who guard me, are 
doubly watchful over me when in a town, though at 
no time properly so, through their consummate indo- 
lence and ignorance. Every day I have it in my 
power to escape them, but, though treated like- a 
felon, I will not appear like one by flight. I was very 
ill yesterday ; I am emaciated ; it is more than twenty 
days since I have eat anything, that may be called 
food, and during that time have been dragged along 
from day to day in some wretched open kibitka. Thus 
am I treated in all respects (except that I am obliged 
to support myself with my own money) like a con- 
vict, and presented by my snuff'box of a sergeant as a 
raree-show, at every town through which we pass. 
Were I charged, or chargeable, with any injury done 
or thought of, either to this, or any other country, it 
might not make me contented, indeed, yet, I suppose, 
it would make me resigned. But to be arrested in 
my travels at the last stage but one, in those domi- 
nions where the severe laws of the climate unhappily 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 281 

detained me, which, however, I should have braved, 
had it not been for the restraining courtesy of the 
Commandant at Yakutsk ; to be seized, imprisoned, 
and transported in this dark and silent manner, with- 
out cause, or accusation, except what appears in the 
mysterious wisdom depicted in the face of my ser- 
geant, and of course without even a guess as to 
my destination ; treated, in short, like a subject of — 
this country ; — under such circumstances, resignation 
would be a crime against my dear native land." 

Here the Siberian journal abruptly comes to a close, 
and little is known of what befell him on his way to 
England, from the frontiers of Poland. In a letter to 
a friend, written after his arrival in London, he 
touches again upon the subject, and adds a few par- 
ticulars, which may with propriety be inserted in the 
present connexion. 

" I had penetrated," he says, " through Europe and 
Asia, almost to the Pacific Ocean, but, in the midst of 
my career, was arrested a prisoner to the Empress of 
Russia, by an express sent after me for that purpose. 
I passed under a guard part of last winter and spring ; 
was banished the empire, and conveyed to the fron- 
tiers of Poland, six thousand versts from the place 
where I was arrested, and this journey was performed 
in six weeks. Cruelties and hardships are tales I 
leave untold. I was disappointed in the pursuit of an 
object, on which my future fortune entirely depended. 
I know not how I passed through the kingdoms of 
Poland and Prussia, or from thence to London, where 
I arrived in the beginning of May, disappointed, rag- 
ged, penniless ; and yet so accustomed am I to such 
36 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

things, that 1 declare my heart was whole. My health 
for the first time had suffered from my confinement, 
and the amazing rapidity with which I had been car- 
ried through the illimitable wilds of Tartary and Rus- 
sia. But my liberty regained, and a few days' rest 
among the beautiful daughters of Israel in Poland, 
reestablished it, and I am now in as full bloom and 
vigor, as thirtyseven years will afford any man. 
Jarvis says I look much older, than when he saw me 
three summers ago at Paris, which I can readily be- 
lieve. An American face does not wear well, like an 
American heart." 

When the soldiers, who were his guards, had arriv- 
ed with him in Poland, they gave him to understand 
that he might go where he pleased, but if he returned 
again to the dominions of the Empress, he would cer- 
tainly be hanged. Having no longer any motive for 
making such an experiment, he took the shortest 
route to Konigsberg. Here he was in a destitute 
situation, without friends or means, his hopes blasted, 
and his health enfeebled. In this state of despondency 
and suffering, he bethought himself again of the 
benevolence of Sir Joseph Banks, which had on more 
occasions than one administered relief to him, and 
served as a balm to his wounded spirit. He was 
lucky enough to dispose of a draft for five guineas on 
his old benefactor, and by this expedient was enabled 
to pursue his journey to London, where he arrived 
after an absence of one year and five months, and 
where he was received with much cordiality by Sir 
Joseph Banks and his other friends. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 283 

It remains to inquire a little further into the rea- 
sons, which induced the Empress to recall him by a 
mandate so positive, after she had given him a royal 
passport for proceeding unmolested to Kamtschat- 
ka. Various conjectures, as to her motives, have 
existed, but the tale of the French spy has been the 
one most generally received, probably because it was 
credited by Sauer, who was on the spot at the 
time he was seized. On that topic enough has been 
said. 

The avowed pretence of the Empress has been as- 
certained, from the authority of Count Segur, who 
was then, as heretofore stated, ambassador from 
France to the court of Petersburg, and was instru- 
mental in procuring Ledyard's passport. In August, 
1823, he wrote the following note to Lafayette, in 
reply to an inquiry on the subject. 

" I have no longer any letters in my possession," 
says Count Segur, " relative to the celebrated travel- 
ler, Mr Ledyard. I remember only, that in compliance 
with your request, I furnished him with the best re- 
commendations at the court of Russia. He was at 
first very well received, but the Empress, who spoke to 
me on the subject herself, observed that she would not 
render herself guilty of the death of this courageous 
American, by furthering a journey so fraught with 
danger, as that he proposed to undertake alone, across 
the unknown and savage regions of Northwestern 
America. She consequently issued her prohibition. 
Possibly this pretext of humanity, advanced by Cath- 
erine, only disguised her unwillingness to have the 
new possessions of Russia, on the western coast of 



284 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

America, seen by an enlightened citizen of the United 
States. The above, however, were the reasons she 
advanced to me." 

Few will doubt, probably, that the closing conjec- 
ture of Count Segur is much more plausible, than the 
alleged humanity of the Empress. It is clothing this 
virtue in the royal breast with an air a little too roman- 
tic, to suppose that she was prompted by such a mo- 
tive to send an express four thousand miles, with an 
order to arrest and preserve from his own temerity 
and self-devotedness an individual, in whose personal 
safety she could not possibly feel any other interest, 
than what the sovereign of all the Russias would natur- 
ally extend to the whole human family. And, more- 
over, this plea of humanity sounds strangely enough, 
when contrasted with the barbarous manner, in which 
Ledyard was transported across the frightful deserts 
of her Imperial Majesty's domains. Such evidences 
of tenderheartedness he would very gladly have dis- 
pensed with, and taken in exchange for them any 
treatment he might receive from the savages of North- 
western America. This pretence of humanity, there- 
fore, has no better foundation than the story of the 
French spy. 

Another explanation is afforded in Dr Clarke's 
Travels in Russia, who had the account from Profes- 
sor Pallas himself. After relating an anecdote, re- 
specting the manner in which Billings obtained his 
appointment, Dr Clarke adds ; 

" That the expedition might have been confided to 
better hands, the public have been since informed hy 
the secretary Sauer. This, Professor Pallas lamented 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 285 

to have discovered, when it was too late. But the 
loss sustained by any incapacity in the persons em- 
ployed to conduct that expedition, is not equal to that 
which the public suffered by the sudden recall of the 
unfortunate Ledyard. This, it is said, would never 
have happened, but through the jealousy of his own 
countrymen, whom he chanced to encounter as he 
was upon the point of quitting the eastern continent 
for America, and who caused the information to be 
sent to Petersburg, which occasioned the order for his 
arrest." * 

This account of the affair labors under one serious 
difficulty, which is, that Ledyard did not meet a single 
countryman of his own in Siberia. It could only be by 
a vague rumor, originally intended to deceive, that 
Professor Pallas was led into such a mistake. As 
Billings and Sauer were Englishmen, and spoke the 
same language as Ledyard, these persons may have 
been alluded to ; yet no proof exists of their hostility to 
him, or that they could have any reasons for thwart- 
ing his designs. 

Since all these explanations of the matter are falla- 
cious, we must look for other causes, and these, in 
my opinion, have been partly anticipated in the 
remarks already made on the conduct of the Com- 
mandant at Yakutsk. From all the circumstances, 
which have come to my knowledge in the course of 
this investigation, I am convinced, that a plan was 
concerted at Irkutsk to send him back, very soon after 
his arrival in that place. Irkutsk was the residence 

* Clarke's Travels in Russia, Cliap. II. 



286 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

of the Governor General of all the eastern parts of 
Siberia, and of the principal persons engaged in the 
fur trade at the Aleutian Islands. Two je^rs before 
this period, the Russian American Company had been 
formed, for the express purpose of establishing a 
regular commercial intercourse with the natives of the 
islands, and of the American coast. Operations were 
already commenced by occupying new posts, erecting 
factories, building fortifications to protect them, and 
making other needful provisions to secure a complete 
monopoly of the trade. 

Now the headquarters of this company w^ere at 
Irkutsk, and it could not have escaped the sagacity of 
its conductors, that a foreigner, visiting their stations 
at the islands, would make discoveries, w^hich might 
be published to their disadvantage, both in regard to 
the resources of traffic, and to the cruel m^anner in 
which the traders habitually treated the natives, in 
extorting from them the fruits of their severe and in- 
cessant labors. To obviate such a consequence, it 
was necessary to cut short the traveller's career, be- 
fore he had penetrated to the eastern shores of Asia. 
In effecting this point, some management was neces- 
sary, as he had a passport from the Empress, with a 
positive order to the Governor General to aid him on 
his way. This order could not be countermanded, 
nor the passport of the Empress treated with disre- 
spect, till intelligence could be sent to Petersburg, 
and influence there used with the Empress to procure 
the annulment of her grant of protection, and Led- 
yard's immediate recall. Time w^as requisite to' bring 
this scheme to an issue, and the first thing to be done, 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 287 

in the train of manoeuvres, was to throw obstacles in 
his path, and retard his progress. This was begun in 
good earnest at Irkutsk, where he was detained sev- 
eral days longer than he desired, waiting, as he was 
told, for the post. 

The manner in which he was received by the Com- 
mandant of Yakutsk has already been stated. The 
extraordinary concern, which the Commandant pro- 
fessed to feel for his welfare, the arguments he used 
to dissuade him from going to Okotsk at that inclem- 
ent season, and his returning Jacobi's letter open, are 
all reasons for strong suspicions. And these reasons 
are confirmed, when it is known, that the journey to 
Okotsk was frequently undertaken in the winter. 
More than a month after Ledyard arrived in Yakutsk, 
Captain Billings returned from the Kolyma, which 
was at least quite as difficult a journey ; and the next 
year, Billings passed from Okotsk to Yakutsk in 
October and November, precisely the same months in 
which Ledyard wished to perform the tour. These 
facts are enough to prove, that the Commandant's 
pretended concern for his health and comfort was 
only a cloak to cover other designs, and to render it 
more than probable, that he had secret instructions to 
cause his delay. This point was gained, and the plot 
farther matured by inducing him to go back to Irkutsk 
with Billings. 

Six months elapsed between the date of his first 
leaving Irkutsk, on his voyage down the Lena, and 
that of his arrest. This afforded ample time to send 
to Petersburg, and receive returns, even through the 
common channel of the post, or mail, which then 



288 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

passed with tolerable regularity and expedition from 
the Russian capital to Irkutsk. Thus were all our 
traveller's hopes blasted, and all his noble designs for 
making new discoveries and benefiting mankind frus- 
trated, by the jealousy and pitiful intrigues of a few 
fur dealers at Irkutsk. The Empress was duped by 
their representations, and she deserted on this occa- 
sion the judicious policy, by which she was usually 
guided, in whatever pertained to the advancement of 
science, or the encouragement of enterprise. Well 
might Lafayette say, as he did, that " her conduct in 
this instance was very illiberal and narrow minded, 
and that her measures were particularly ungenerous." 
The conclusion to which I have thus been led, in ex- 
plaining an apparent enigma in Ledyard's Siberian 
adventures, is mainly founded, it is true, on circum- 
stantial evidence ; but this evidence is so strong, that I 
know not how it can be resisted. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 289 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Interview with Sir Joseph Banks in London. — Engages to travel in Africa under 
the auspices of the African Association. — Remarkable instance of decision of 
character. — Letter to Dr Ledyard, containing miscellaneous particulars 
respecting his travels and circumstances. — Description of his Siberian 
dresses. — Origin and purposes of the African Association. — Ancient and 
present state of Africa. — Benefits of discoveries in that continent. — Letter 
flom Ledyard to his mother. — His remarks to Mr Beaufoy on his departure 
for Egypt. — Visits Mr Jefferson and Lafayette in Paris. — Sails from Mar- 
seiles to Alexandria in Egj'pt. — Description of Alexandria, in a letter to Mr 
Jefferson. — Arrives in Cairo. — Description of the city, and of his passage up 
the Nile. 

No sooner was he arrived in London, than he called 
on his worthy patron and friend, Sir Joseph Banks, to 
express his gratitude for the many substantial favors 
received from him. Sir Joseph, after questioning 
him with a lively interest concerning his travels, and 
expressing sympathy for his past misfortunes, inquired 
what were his future intentions. Ledyard frankly 
confessed, that he had nothing in prospect ; that, after 
having struggled against a tide of difficulties to ac- 
complish an object, which he had much at heart, 
but in pursuing which he had been baffled in every 
attempt, he felt himself at this moment in a state of 
perfect uncertainty, as to the step next to be taken ; 
time and circumstances would decide his fortune. 
What followed will be best related in the language of 
Mr Beaufoy, then secretary of the African Asso- 
ciation. 

" Sir Joseph Banks, who knew his temper, told 
him, that he believed he could recommend him to an 
37 



290 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

adventure almost as perilous as the one from which 
he had returned ; and then communicated to him the 
wishes of the Association for discovering the inland 
countries of Africa. Ledjard replied, that he had 
always determined to traverse the Continent of Africa, 
as soon as he had explored the interior of North 
America ; and as Sir Joseph had offered him a letter 
of introduction, he came directly to the writer of 
these Memoirs. Before I had learnt from the note 
the name and business of my visitor, I was struck 
with the manliness of his person, the breadth of his 
chest, the openness of his countenance, and the in- 
quietude of his eye. I spread the map of Africa 
before him, and tracing a line from Cairo to Sennar, 
and from thence westward in the latitude and suppos- 
ed direction of the Niger, I told him, that was the 
route, by which T was anxious that Africa might, if 
possible, be explored. He said, he should think him- 
self singularly fortunate to be trusted with the ad- 
venture. I asked him when he would set out. ' To- 
morrow morning,' was his answer. I told him I was 
afraid that we should not be able, in so short a time, 
to prepare his instructions, and to procure for him the 
letters that were requisite ; but that if the Commit- 
tee should approve of his proposal, all expedition 
should be used." * 

This interview affords one of the most extraordinary 
instances of decision of character, which is to be 
found on record. When we consider his recent bitter 



* Proceedings of the African Association, Vol. I. p. 18. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 291 

experience of the past, his labors and sufferings, which 
had been so intense and so long continued, that a 
painful reality had more than checked the excesses of 
romantic enthusiasm, which might be kindled in a less 
disciplined imagination ; and when we witness the 
promptitude, with which he is ready to encounter 
new perils in the heart of Africa, where hardships of 
the severest kind must inevitably be endured, and 
where death would stare him in the face at every 
stage; we cannot but admire the superiority of mind 
over the accidents of human life, the rapidity of com- 
bination, quickness of decision, and fearlessness of 
consequences, which Ledyard's reply indicates. It 
w^as the spontaneous triumph of an elevated spirit over 
the whole catalogue of selfish considerations, wavering 
motives, and half subdued doubts, which would have 
contended for days in the breast of most men, before 
they would have adopted a firm resolution to jeopard 
their lives, in an undertaking so manifestly beset 
with dangers, and which in its best aspect threatened 
to be a scene of toils, privations, and endurance. It 
is needless to say, that the committee of the Associa- 
tion immediately closed an agreement with a man, 
who presented himself with such a temper, and with 
numerous other qualities, which fitted him in a pecu- 
liar manner for their service. Preparations for his 
departure were commenced without delay. 

While these movements were going on, he wrote a 
long letter to Dr Ledyard. It was composed at dif- 
ferent times, and is without date. A few extracts 
from it will give an insight into his pursuits, and ex- 
hibit some traits of his character in a favorable light. 



292 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" I was last evening in company with Mr Jarvis of 
New York, whom I accidentally met in the city, and 
invited to my lodgings. When I was in Paris in dis- 
tress, he behaved very generously to me, and, as I do 
not want money at present, I had a double satisfaction 
in our meeting, being equally happy to see him, and 
to pay him one hundred livres, which I never expected 
to be able to do, and I suppose he did not think I 
should. If he goes to New York as soon as he men- 
tioned, I shall trouble him with this letter to you, and 
with some others to your address for my other friends. 
I wrote you last from this place, nearly two years 
ago, but I suppose you heard from me at Petersburg, 
by Mr Franklin of New York. I promised to write 
you from the remote parts of Siberia. I promise 
everything to those I love ; and so does fortune to me 
sometimes, but we reciprocally prevent each other 
from fulfilling our engagements. She left me so poor 
in Siberia, that I could not write you, because I could 
not frank the letter. You are already acquainted with 
the intent of the voyage, which 1 have been two 
years engaged in. The history of it I cannot give 
you, nor indeed the world. Parts of it you would 
comprehend, approve, and, I believe, admire ; parts 
are incomprehensible, because not to be described. I 
have seen and suffered a great deal, but I now have 
my health and spirits in perfection. 

" By my acquaintances in London my arrival was 
announced to a society of noblemen and gentlemen, 
who liad for some time been fruitlessly inquiring for 
some person to travel through the continent of Africa. 
I was asked, and consented to undertake the tour. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 293 

The society have appropriated a sum of money to de- 
fray the expenses. I dine with them collectively this 
day week, finish the affair, and within the month shall 
be on the move. My route will be from here to Paris, 
thence to Marseilles, across the Mediterranean to 
Alexandria in Egypt, and then to Grand Cairo. Be- 
yond is unknown, and my discoveries begin. Where 
they will terminate, and how, you shall know, if I sur- 
vive. As we have now no minister from the United 
States in London, and as I know of no certain me- 
dium of conveyance, I cannot certainly promise you 
letters from Africa. I can only say, that I will write 
you from Grand Cairo, if I can find an opportunity. 

" Before I leave town I intend to send you some 
Tartar curiosities, and, if possible, also, a transcript 
of the few rude remarks I made on my last tour. 
The hints I have given respecting the history of man, 
from circumstances and facts that have come within 
my personal knowledge, you will find new and inter- 
esting. They form data for investigation, but they 
are better in my hands than in any other's, because no 
other person has seen so much of Asia and America. 
They might amuse you in the happy retirement, 
which Mr Jarvis tells me you enjoy on Long Island. 
My seeing this gentleman has been almost as good as 
a visit to New York. Nothing in his account of our 
family and friends has affected me so much, as the 
mercantile misfortunes of your worthy brother. Sure- 
ly the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 
strong. Did the pyramids of Egypt, which I shall 
soon see, cover hearts as worthy as his, I should no 
more style them monuments of human imbecility ; I 



294 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

should worship before them. Mr Jarvis has not been 
able to give me an exact account of his situation. He 
only tells me, that he has failed in business and retired 
to Jersey, where I think he ought to stay, for the 
world is absolutely unworthy of him. I do not say 
this, because he is my cousin, and shared with you 
the earliest attachment of my heart. These are 
things that I feel, and that the world has nothing to 
do with, any more than it ought to have with him. 
They are compliments, which his enemies would 
make him, if he had any. I never knew so much 
merit so unfortunate. I cannot reflect on his fate un- 
impassioned. He should retire; if barely comfortable 
it will be enough, for he cannot go from dignity. My 
heart is on your side of the Atlantic. I know the 
charms on Long Island, the additional ones of your 
residence there, and the sweet accordance of recuhans 
sub tegmine fagi. Do not think, because I have seen 
much of the world, and must see more, that I have 
forgotten America. I could as soon forget you, my- 
self, my God. 

" My travels have brought upon me a numerous 
correspondence, which, added to the employments of 
my new enterprise, leaves me little leisure. I am 
alone in everything, and in most things so, because 
nobody has been accustomed to think and act in trav- 
elling matters as I do. I am sorry Mr Jarvis will go 
so soon. Today is Saturday, and he will call on 
Tuesday, to receive the things for you, and (.ake leave 
of me. My time is wholly occupied, and it happens 
that just at this moment I am the busiest with the 
African Society. Among other things, I wish to send 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 295 

you a copy of my Swedish portrait at Somerset 
House. I have one by me, but it is a stupid thing. 
It was taken by a boy, who is as dumb and deaf as 
the portrait itself. He is, however, under the patron- 
age of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the English Raphael. 
The boy was sent to me by a country squire, who ac- 
cidentally got acquainted with me at an inn, where I 
lodged in London, and who has taken a wonderful 
fancy to me, and begs to hang me up in his hall. This 
one is still unfinished, and so is the one for the squire. 
They are mere daubings. Jarvis says our Trumbull 
is clever, and advises me to get him to copy the 
Swedish drawing, which is not only a perfect likeness, 
but a good painting. If I do according to his advice, 
it cannot be soon ; and, indeed, I should not trouble 
you, or myself, about this shadow of your friend, were 
I sure of presenting him to you hereafter in substance. 
I shall not have time to settle my affairs before Jarvis 
goes, if it is tomorrow, for tomorrow I must be with 
the African committee. 

" Jarvis is this moment going. Adieu. — He will 
not take the one hundred livres." 

It may be well to add here, rather as a matter of 
curiosity, than for any other purpose, his description 
of the Siberian articles of clothing, which he sent to 
Dr Ledyard by Mr Jarvis. He was. now going to a 
climate, where he would have no occasion for a dress, 
suited to the winters of Siberia. 

" The dresses I send you," he writes, " are such as 
I have worn through many a scene, and was glad to 
get them. The surtout coat is made of reindeer 
skin, and edged with the dewlap of the moose. Per- 



296 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

haps you will wear this yourself in winter. It was 
made for a riding coat, and I have rode both horses 
and deer with it. The first cap is of the Siberian red 
fox ; it is a travelling cap, and the form is entirely 
Tartar. The second cap is Russian, consisting of 
white ermine, and bordered with blue fox skin ; it 
cost me at Yakutsk twentyfive roubles, which is four 
guineas and one rouble. The surtout coat cost seven- 
ty roubles ; the fox skin cap six roubles. The gloves 
are made of the feet of the fox, and lined with the 
Tartar hare, and cost five roubles. The frock is in 
form and style truly Tartar. It was presented to me, 
and came from the borders of the Frozen Ocean, at 
the mouth of the river Kolyma. It is made of a 
spotted reindeer calf ; the edging is the same as that 
on the surtout. You will see, on the inside of the 
skin, a number of spots ; these were occasioned by a 
small insect bred there from the eggs of a species of 
fly, which, together with the vast numbers of musqui- 
tos, obliges this charming animal to migrate annually 
north and south, as the seasons change. 

" The boots are made also of reindeer skin, and 
ornamented with European cloth ; the form is Tartar ; 
they cost eight roubles. The socks for the boots are 
made of the skin of an old reindeer. They are worn 
on the inside of the boots, with the hair to the feet, 
with or without stockings. These were presented to 
me, and came from the borders of the Frozen Ocean. 
The cloak, which they are wrapped up in, was made 
in London. I travelled on foot with it in Denmark, 
Sweden, Lapland, Finland, and the Lord knows 
where. I have slept in it, eat in it, drank in it, fought 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 29? 

in it, negotiated in it. Through every scene it has 
been mj constant and hardy servant, from my depar- 
ture til] my return to London. And now to give it an 
asylum (for I have none), I send it to you. Lay it 
up ; as soon as I can, I will call and lay myself up 
with it. I have mentioned the prices of the above 
articles, to give you a notion how dear fur dresses are, 
even in the remotest parts of the vast dominions of 
Russia. These clothes were not all that I wore last 
winter ; I wore many others, and froze my nose and 
ears after all. You have no idea of the excessive 
cold in those regions." 

The Society, in w^hose service Ledyard was novr 
engaged, had its origin with a few individuals in Lon- 
don, but the number of its members soon increased to 
about two hundred, among whom were some of 
the most eminent men in the kingdom. Their imme- 
diate object was to promote discoveries in the inte- 
rior of Africa, and a fund was raised by a sub- 
scription from each member, for the purpose of 
effecting that object. The Society was denominated 
the African Association^ and was patronized by the 
king. A committee was to be annually chosen by 
ballot, whose duty it was to transact the affairs of the 
Society, by taking charge of the funds, employing 
persons to travel, collecting intelligence, and keeping 
up a correspondence with various parts of Africa. 
The first committee appointed, and that with which 
Ledyard made his arrangements, consisted of Lord 
Rawdon, the Bishop of Landaff", Sir Joseph Banks, 
Mr Beaufoy, and Mr Steuart. Among the other mem- 
bers, who joined the Society at the beginning, were 
38 



298 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 

Mr Addington, the Earl of Bute, General Conway, 
the Duke of Grafton, Edward Gibbon, John Hunter, 
Dr Lettsom, the Earl of Moira, the Duke of North- 
umberland, Lord Sheffield, Benjamin Vaughan, and 
Mr Wilberforce. An institution, supported bv names of 
such weight and respectability, would naturally attract 
public attention, and ensure all the success of which 
the nature of its designs was susceptible. 

For many ages the continent of Africa had been a 
neglected portion of the globe, of which the rest of 
the world had taken little account. The learning, 
and splendor, and prowess of Egypt were departed ; 
Carthage, with all its glory, had sunk into the dust ; 
the proud monuments of Numidian greatness had 
been blotted from the face of the earth, and almost 
from the memory of man. The gloom of this scene 
was heightened, not more by the ravages of time in 
destroying what had been, than by the contrasts, 
which succeeding changes had produced. A semibar- 
barous population, gathered from the wrecks of fallen 
nations, enemies to the arts and to the best social in- 
terests of man, had gradually spread themselves over 
the whole northern borders of Africa, and presented a 
barrier to the hazards of enterprise, no less than to 
the inroads of civilization. Whatever might be the 
ardor for discovery and the disregard of danger, no- 
body cared to penetrate into these regions, where all 
was uncertainty, and were the chance of success bore 
no proportion to the perils that must be encountered. 

There is no question, that the northern half of 
Africa was better known to the Romans, at the time 
of Julius Caesar, than to the Europeans in the middle 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 299 

of the eighteenth century. A few scattered names of 
rivers, towns, and nations, occupied the map of the 
interior, traced there by a hesitating hand, on the du- 
bious authority of the Nubian geographer, Edrissi, and 
the Spanish traveller, Leo Africanus. The rhymes 
of Swift on this subject were not more witty than 
true. 

" Geographers, in Afric maps, 
With savage pictures fill their gaps, 
And o'er unhabitable downs 
Place elephants for want of towns." 

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Leo pene- 
trated as far as Timbuctoo and the Niger, but so im- 
perfect were his descriptions even of what he saw, 
that very little geographical knowledge was communi- 
cated by them. He was on the banks of the Niger, 
but it could not be ascertained from his account, 
whether this river ran to the east or west, nor indeed, 
whether it existed as a separate stream. In short, 
down to the time when the African Association was 
formed, almost the whole of this vast continent, its 
geography and physical resources, its inhabitants, 
governments, languages, were a desideratum in the his- 
tory of nature and of man. It could not be doubted, 
that many millions of human beings inhabited these 
hidden regions. Nor were the character and condition 
of these people, their institutions and social advance- 
ment, mere matters of curiosity ; they had a relation 
to the people of other parts of the globe, and, when 
discovered and understood, might be turned to the 
common advantage of the great human family. There 



300 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

are no nations, that may not profit by an intercourse 
between each other, either by an exchange of pro- 
ducts peculiar to each, or by a reciprocal moral influ- 
ence, or by both. 

On these broad and benevolent principles the Socie- 
ty for promotirsg discoveries in Africa was instituted, 
and the scheme was worthy of the enlightened philan- 
thropists, by whom it w^as devised. Ledyird's instruc- 
tions were few, simple, and direct. He wrs to repair 
first to Egypt, travel thence across the continent, make 
such observations as he could, and report the results to 
the Association. Everything was left to his discretion. 
His past experience, the extraordinary energy of his 
character, his disinterestedness, and the enthusiasm 
with which he engaged in the present undertaking, 
were all such as to ensure the confidence of his em- 
ployers, and inspire them w^ith sanguine hopes. 

As for himself, at no period of his life had he re- 
flected with so much satisfaction on his condition, or 
his prospects. Heretofore he had always been alone, 
oppressed with poverty, and contending with an ad- 
verse fate. But now he was free from want, patron- 
ized by the first men in Great Britain, and engaged 
at their solicitation, and under their auspices, in an 
enterprise, fraught, it is true, w^ith many dangers, but 
promising the glory of which he had ever been ambi- 
tious, and opening to him a field of adventure, which 
his imagination had pictured to him as the first to 
be chosen, after he had discharged what he deemed a 
paramount duty, in exploring the unknown parts of 
the continent to which he owed his birth. When he 
was departing from London for Egypt, he may be 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 301 

said to have been, for the first time in his life, at the 
summit of his wishes. All previous cares, defeats, 
and disasters appear to have been forgotten, or swal- 
lowed up in the deep interests of the present, and the 
cherished anticipations of the future. A letter writ- 
ten to his mother at this time will indicate the tone 
of his spirits. 

" Truly is it written, that the ways of God are 
past finding out, and his decrees unsearchable. Is the 
Lord thus great ? So also is he good. I am an 
instance of it. I have trampled the world under my 
feet, laughed at fear, and derided danger. Through 
millions of fierce savages, over parching deserts, the 
freezing north, the everlasting ice, and stormy seas, 
have I passed without harm. How good is my God ! 
What rich subjects have I for praise, love, and adora- 
tion ! 

" I am but just returned to England from my trav- 
els of two years, and am going away into Africa to 
examine that continent. I expect to be absent three 
years. I shall be in Egypt as soon as I can get there, 
and after that go into unknown parts. I have full 
and perfect health. Remember me to my brothers 
and sisters. Desire them to remember me, for, if 
Heaven permits, I shall see them again. I pray God 
to bless and comfort you all. Farewell." 

At length the preparations for his departure were 
completed. He had become well acquainted with the 
views of the committee ; and a sufficient .amount of 
money had been raised, by the subscriptions, to pro- 
vide for the expenses of his journey to Egypt, and 
to purchase such articles of merchandise as might 



302 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

be found necessaiy to enable him to assume the char- 
acter of a trader in a caravan to the interior, or for 
travelling in anj other manner, which he should deem 
most expedient when on the spot. The last letter he 
wrote to America was a short one, dated at London, 
on the twentyninth of June. 

" I suppose that my letter and curiosities, sent by 
Mr Jarvis, are now halfway over the Atlantic. Here 
you have a little portrait, which I leave to the care of 
his brother in town. Enclosed with it is a poor por- 
trait of me, taken by the dumb boy mentioned in my 
other letter. If it were anything like painting, I 
would desire you to keep it. As it is, I beg you will 
send it to ray mother. She will be as fond of it, as if 
done by Guido. I would have sent it framed, if the 
opportunity would have permitted. Tomorrow morn- 
ing I set out for France. Adieu." 

Accordingly he left London on the thirtieth of 
June. Mr Beaufoy speaks of the interview he had 
with him, just as he was setting off, and adds these 
affecting remarks, as given in Ledyard's own words. 

" ' I am accustomed,' said he, in our last conversa- 
tion, ('twas on the morning of his departure for Afri- 
ca), ' I am accustomed to hardships. I have known 
both hune;er and nakedness to the utmost extremitv of 
human suffering. I have known what it is to have 
food given me as charity to a madman ; and 1 have at 
times been obliged to shelter myself under the mise- 
ries of that character, to avoid a heavier calamity. 
My distresses have been greater than I have ever 
owned, or ever will own to any man. Such evils are 
terrible to bear ; but they never yet had power to 



LIFE OF JOHxN LEDYARD. 303 

turn me from my purpose. If 1 live, I will faithfully 
perform, in its utmost extent, my engagement to the 
society ; and if 1 perish in the attempt, my honor will 
still be safe, for death cancels all bonds.' " 

In Paris he met with Mr Jefferson, Lafayette, and 
several others of his old friends, whom he had left 
there three years before, and towards whom he enter- 
tained sentiments of the warmest gratitude. He 
continued at Paris seven or eight days, and then pro- 
ceeded to Marseilles, where he took ship for Alexan- 
dria. From this place he wrote to Mr Jefferson the 
following letter. 

" As 1 shall go to Cairo in a few days, from whence 
it may be difficult for me to write to you, I do it here, 
though unprepared. I am in good health and spirits, 
and the prospects before me are flattering. This in- 
telligence, with my wishes for your happiness and an 
eternal remembrance of your goodness to me, must 
form the only part of my letter of any consequence ; 
except that I desire to be remembered to the Marquis 
de la Fayette, his lady, Mr Short, and other friends. 
Deducting the week I stayed at Paris, and two days 
at Marseilles, I was only thirtyfour days from London 
to this place. 

" I am sorry to inform you, that I regret having 
visited the gentleman you mentioned, and of haying 
made use of your name. I shall ever think, though 
he was extremely polite, that he rather strove to pre- 
vent my embarking at Marseilles, than to facilitate it; 
for, by bandying me about among the members of the 
Chamber of Commerce, he had nearly, and very nearly, 
lost me my passage ; and in the last ship from Mar- 



504 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

seilles for the season. He knew better ; he knew 
that the Chamber of Commerce had no business with 
me ; and, besides, I only asked him if he could with- 
out trouble address me to the captain of a ship bound 
to Alexandria ; nothing more. 

" Alexandria at large presents a scene more wretch- 
ed, than I have witnessed. Poverty, rapine, murder, 
tumult, blind bigotry, cruel persecution, pestilence ! 
A small town built on the ruins of antiquity, a"s re- 
markable for its miserable architecture, as I suppose 
the place once was for its good and great works of 
that kind. Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Obelisk 
are now almost the only remains of remote antiquity. 
They are both, and particularly the former, noble ob- 
jects to contemplate, and are certainly more captivat- 
ing from the contrast of the deserts and forlorn 
prospects around them. No man of whatever turn of 
mind can see the whole, without retiring from the 
scene with a Sic transit gloria mundi.''^ 

Having passed ten days only at Alexandria, he pur- 
sued his journey up the Nile to Cairo, where he 
arrived on the nineteenth of August. Here again he 
wrote to Mr Jefferson. 

" I sent you a short letter from Alexandria. I be- 
gin this without knowing where I shall close it, or 
when I shall send it, or, indeed, whether I shall ever 
send it. But I will have it ready, in case an opportu- 
nity shall offer. Having been in Cairo only four days, 
I have not seen much of particular interest for you ; 
and, indeed, you will not expect much of this kind 
from me. My business is in another quarter, and the 
information I seek totally new. Anything from this 
place would not be so. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 305 

" At all events I shall never want a subject, when 
it is to you I write. I shall never think my letter an 
indifferent one, when it contains the declaration of 
my gratitude and my affection for you ; and this, not- 
withstanding you thought haili of me for being em- 
ployed by an English Association, which hurt me 
much while I was at Paris. You know your own 
heart, and if my suspicions are groundless, forgive 
them, since they proceed from the jealousy I have, 
not to lose the regard you have in times past been 
pleased to honor me with. You are not obliged to 
esteem me, but I am obliged to esteem you, or to 
take leave of my senses, and confront the opinions of 
the greatest and best characters I know. If I cannot, 
therefore, address myself to you as a man you regard, 
I must do it as one that regards you for your own 
sake, and for the sake of my country, which has set 
me the example. 

" I made my tour from Alexandria hy vv^ater, and 
entered the Nile by the western branch of the mouths 
of the river. I was five days coming to Cairo, but 
this passage is generally made in four, and sometimes 
in three days. You have heard and read much of the 
Nile, and so had I, but when I saw it, I could not 
conceive it to be the same. What eyes do travellers 
see with ? Are they fools or rogues ? For Heaven's 
sake, hear the plain truth about it. First, in regard 
to its size. Obvious comparisons in such cases are 
good. Do you know the river Connecticut ? Of all 
the rivers I have seen, it most resembles that in size. 
It is a little wider, and may on that account better 
compare with the Thames. This is the mighty, the 
39 



306 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

sovereign of rivers, the vast Nile, that has been meta- 
morphosed into one of the wonders of the world. Let 
me be careful how I read, and above all how I read 
ancient history. You have heard and read, too, much 
of its inmidations. If the thousands of large and 
small canals from it, and the thousands of men and 
machines employed to transfer by artificial means the 
water of the Nile to the meadows on its banks, if this 
be the inundation that is meant, it is true ; any other is 
false. It is not an inundating river. I came up the 
river from the fifteenth to the twentieth of August, 
and about the thirtieth the water will be at the height 
of the freshet. When I left the river, its banks were 
four, five, and six feet, above the water, and here in 
town I am told they expect the Nile to be only one or 
two feet higher at the most. This is a proof, if any 
were wanted, that the river does not overflow its 
banks. 

" I saw the pyramids as I passed up the river, but 
they were four or five leagues off. It is warm weather 
here at present, and were it not for the north winds, 
that cool themselves in their passage over the Medi- 
terranean, and blow upon us, we should be in a sad 
situation. As it is, I think I have felt it hotter at 
Philadelphia in the same month. The city of Cairo 
is about half as large in size as Paris, and is said to 
contain seven hundred thousand inhabitants. You 
will therefore anticipate the fact of its narrow streets 
and high houses. In this number are contained one 
hundred thousand Copts, or descendants of the an- 
cient Egyptians. There are likewise Christians, and 
those of different sects from Jerusalem, Damascus, 
Aleppo, and other parts of Syria. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 307 

" With regard to my journey, I can only tell you 
with any certainty, that I shall be able to pass as far 
as the western boundaries of what is called Turkish 
Nubia to the town of Sennaar. I expect to get there 
with some surety. Beyond that all is dark before me. 
My wishes and designs are to pass in that parallel 
across the continent. I will write from Sennaar if 
I can. 

" You know the disturbances in this unhappy coun- 
try, and the nature of them. The Beys, revolted 
from the Bashaw, have possession of Upper Egypt, 
and are now encamped with an army, pitiful enough 
indeed, about three miles south of Cairo. They say 
to the Bashaw, ' Come out of your city and fight us ; ' 
and the Bashaw says, ' Come out of your entrench- 
ments and fight me.' You know this revolt is a 
stroke in Russian politics. Nothing merits more the 
whole force of burlesque, than both the poetic and 
prosaic legends of this country. Sweet are the songs 
of Egypt on paper. Who is not ravished with gums, 
balms, dates, figs, pomegranates, circassia, and syca- 
mores, without recollecting that amidst these are dust, 
hot and fainting winds, bugs, musquitoes, spiders, flies, 
leprosy, fevers, and almost universal blindness ? I am 
in perfect health. Adieu for the present, and believe 
me to be, with all possible esteem and regard, your 
sincere friend." 



308 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Remarks on the appearance of the country in passing up the NUe. — Condition 
of a Christian at Cairo. — Interview with the Aga. — Miscellaneous observations 
on the customs of the Arabs, and other races of people found in Cairo. — In- 
formation respecting the interior of Africa. — Visit to the caravans and slave 
markets. — The traveller's reflections on his condition and prospects. — 
His last letter to Mr Jefferson. — ^Joins a caravan and prepares to depart for 
Sennaar. — He is taken suddenly iU. — His death. — Account of his person and 
character. 

As he was furnished with letters of recommenda- 
tion to the British Consul at Cairo, he found little 
difficulty in procuring such accommodations as he de- 
sired, and such information as enabled him to direct 
his attention immediately to the great object of his 
mission. His intention was to join a caravan, bound 
to the interior, and to continue with it to the end of 
its route. Beyond this he must be guided by circum- 
stances, which could not be foreseen, and concerning 
which no calculation was to be made. He adopted a 
a dress suited to the character he was to assume, and 
began in earnest to study the manners of the people 
around him, and particularly of the traders in the 
caravans, which were then at Cairo. Three months 
were passed in this occupation. He kept a journal of 
whatever he deemed most worthy of record, which 
was afterwards transmitted to the African Association. 
Such parts of the journal, as are contained in the 
Proceedings of that body, will here be added. They 
bear the peculiar marks of the author's mind, his 
habits of observation, his boldness of thought and 
opinion, and his quick perception of resemblance and 
contrast in the various races of men. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 309 

'■''August 14th. — I left Alexandria at midnight, with 
a pleasant breeze north ; and was, at sunrise next 
morning, at the mouth of the Nile, which has a bar of 
sand across it, and soundings as irregular as the sea, 
which is raised upon it by the contentions of counter 
currents and winds. 

" The view in sailing up the Nile is very confined, 
unless from the top of the mast, or some other emi- 
nence, and then it is an unbounded plain of excellent 
land, miserably cultivated, and yet interspersed with 
a great number of villages, both on its banks and as 
far along the meadows as one can see in any direc- 
tion. The river is also filled with boats passing and 
repassing — boats all of one kind, and navigated in one 
manner ; nearly also of one size, the largest carrying 
ten or fifteen tons. On board of these boats are seen 
onions, watermelons, dates, sometimes a horse, a 
camel (which lies down in the boat), sheep, goats, 
dogs, men, and women. Towards evening and morn- 
ing they have music. 

" Whenever we stopped at a village, I used to walk 
into it with my conductor, who, being a Musselman, 
and a descendant from Mahomet, wore a green tur- 
ban, and was therefore respected, and 1 was sure of 
safety ; but, in truth, dressed as I was in a common 
Turkish habit, I believe I should have walked as safe- 
ly without him. I saw no propensity among the in- 
habitants to incivility. The villages are most misera- 
ble assemblages of poor little mod huts, flung very 
close together without any kind of order, full of dust, 
lice, fleas, bugs, flies, and all the curses of Moses ; 
people poorly clad, the youths naked ; in such respects, 
they rank infinitely below any savages I ever saw. 



310 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

" The common people wear nothing but a shirt and 
drawers, and they are always blue. Green is the 
royal, or holy color ; none but the descendants of 
Mahomet, if I am rightly informed, being permitted 
to wear it. 

^^ August 19th. — From the little town where we 
landed, the distance to Cairo is about a mile and a 
half, which we rode on asses ; for the ass in this coun- 
try is the Christian's horse, as he is allowed no other 
animal to ride upon. Indeed I find the situation of a 
Christian, or, what they more commonly call here, a 
Frank, to be very, very humiliating, ignominious, and 
distressing. No one, by a combination of any causes, 
can reason down to such effects as experience teaches 
us do exist here ; it being impossible to conceive, that 
the enmity I have alluded to could exist between 
men; or, in fact, that the same species of beings, 
from any causes whatever, should ever think and act 
so differently as the Egyptians and the English do. 

" I arrived at Cairo early in the morning, on the 
nineteenth of August, and went to the house of the 
Venetian Consul, Mr Rosetti, charge d'affaires for the 
English Consul here. After dinner, not being able to 
find any other lodging, and receiving no very pressing 
invitation from Mr Rosetti, to lodge with him, I went 
to a convent. This convent consists of missionaries, 
sent by the Pope to propagate the Christian faith, or 
at least to give shelter to Christians. The Christians 
here are principally from Damascus ; the convent is 
governed by the order of Recollets ; a number of 
English, as well as other European travellers, have 
lodged there. 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 311 

" August 26th. — This day I was introduced by 
Rosetti to the Aga Mahommed, the confidential minis- 
ter of Ismael, the most powerful of the four ruling 
Beys. He gave me his hand to kiss, and with it the 
promise of letters, protection, and support, through 
Turkish Nubia, and also to some chiefs far inland. 
In a subsequent conversation, he told me I should see 
in my travels a people, who had power to transmute 
themselves into the forms of different animals. He 
asked me what I thought of the affair. I did not like 
to render the ignorance, simplicity, and credulity of 
the Turk apparent. I told him, that it formed a part 
of the character of all savages to be great necroman- 
cers ; but that I had never before heard of any so 
great, as those which he had done me the honor to 
describe ; that it had rendered me more anxious to be 
on my voyage, and if I passed among them, I would, 
in the letter I promised to write to him, give him a 
more particular account of them, than he had hitherto 
had. He asked me how I could travel, without the 
language of the people where I should pass ? I told 
him, with vocabularies. I might as well have read to 
him a page of Newton's Principia. He returned to 
his fables again. Is it not curious, that the Egyptians 
(for I speak of the natives of the country, as well as 
of him, when I make the observation), are still such 
dupes to the arts of sorcery ? Was it the same peo- 
ple who built the pyramids ? 

" I cannot understand that the Turks have a better 
opinion of our mental powers, than we have of theirs ; 
but they say of us, that we are ' a people who carry 
our minds on our fingers'' eiids ; ' meaning, that we 



312 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

put them in exercise constantly, and render them sub- 
servient to all manner of purposes, and with celerity, 
despatch, and ease, do what we do. 

" I suspect the Copts to have been the origin of the 
Negro race ; the nose and lips correspond with those 
of the Negro. The hair, whenever I can see it 
among the people here (the Copts), is curled ; not 
close like the Negroes, but like the Mulattoes. I ob- 
serve a greater variety of color among the human 
species here, than in any other country ; and a greater 
variety of feature, than in any other country not pos- 
sessing a greater degree of civilization. 1 have seen 
an Abyssinian woman, and a Bengal man ; the color 
is the same in both ; so are their features and persons. 

" I have seen a small mummy ; it has what I call 
wampum-work on it. It appears as common here as 
among the Tartars. Tattooing is as prevalent among 
the Arabs of this place, as among the South Sea 
Islanders. It is a little curious, that the women here 
are more generally than in any other part of the world 
tattooed on the chin, with perpendicular lines descend- 
ing from the under lip to the chin, like the women on 
the Northwest Coast of America. It is also a custom 
here to stain the nails red, like the Cochin Chinese, 
and the northern Tartars. The mask, or veil, that 
the women here wear, resembles exactly that worn 
by the priests at Otaheite, and those seen at the 
Sandwich Islands. 

" I have not yet seen the Arabs make use of a tool, 
like our axe or hatchet ; but what they use for such 
purposes, as we do our hatchet and axe, is in the form 
of an adze, and is a form we found most agreeable to 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 313 

the South Sea islanders. I see no instance of a tool 
formed designedly for the use of the right or left 
hand particularly, as the cotogon is among the Yakut! 
Tartars. 

" There is certainly a very remarkable affinity be- 
tween the Russian and Greek dress. The fillet round 
the temples of the Greek and Russian women is a 
circumstance in dress, that perhaps would strike no- 
body as it does me ; and so of the wampura-work too, 
which is also found among them both. They spin 
here with the distaff and spindle only, like the French 
peasantry, and others in Europe ; and the common Arab 
loom is upon our principle, though rude. I saw today 
an Arab woman white, like the white Indians in the 
South Sea islands, and at the Isthmus of Darien« 
These kind of people all look alike. Among the 
Greek women here, I find the identical Archangel 
headdress. 

" Their music is instrumental, consisting of a drum 
and pipe, both which resemble those two instruments 
in the South Seas. The drum is exactly like the 
Otaheite drum ; the pipe is made of cane, and con- 
sists of a long and short tube joined ; the music re- 
sembles very much the bagpipe, and is pleasant. All 
their music is concluded, if not accompanied, by the 
clapping of hands. I think it singular, that the 
women here make a noise with their mouths like 
frogs, and that this frog music is always made at wed- 
dings ; and I believe on all other occasions of merri- 
ment, where there are women. 

" It is remarkable, that the dogs here are of just the 
same species found among the Otaheitaiis. It is also 
40 



314 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

remarkable, that in one village I saw exactly the same 
machines used for diversion as in Russia. I forget the 
Russian name for it. It is a large kind of wheel, on 
the extremities of which there are suspended seats, in 
which people are whirled round over and under each 
other. 

" The women dress their hair behind, exactly in the 
same manner in which the Avomen of the Kalmuk 
Tartars dress theirs. 

"In the history of the kingdom of Benin, in 
Guinea, the chiefs are called Aree Roee, or street 
kings. Among the islands in the South Sea, Ota- 
heite, and others, they call the chiefs Arees, and the 
great chiefs Aree le Hoi. I think this curious ; and 
so I do, that it is a custom of the Arabs to spread a 
blanket, when they would invite any one to eat or 
rest with them. The American Indians spread the 
beaver skins on such occasions. The Arabs of the 
deserts, like the Tartars, have an invincible attach- 
ment to liberty ; no arts will reconcile them to any 
other life, or form of government, however modified. 
This is a character given me here of the Arabs. It 
is singular, that the Arab language has no word for 
liberty, although it has for slaves. The Arabs, like 
the New Zealanders, engage with a long, strong 
spear. 

^' I have made the best inquiries I have been able, 
since I have been here, of the nature of the country 
before me ; of Sennaar, Darfoor, Wangara, of Nubia, 
Abyssinia, of those named, or unknown by name. I 
should have been happy to have sent you better infor- 
mation of those places, than I am yet able to do. It 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 315 

will appear very singular to you in England, that we 
in Egypt are so ignorant of countries, which we annu- 
ally visit. The Egyptians know as little of geogra- 
phy, as the generality of the French ; and, like them, 
sing, dance, and traffic without it. 

" I have the best assurances of a certain and safe 
conduct, by the return of the caravan that is arrived 
from Sennaar ; and Mr Rosetti tells me, that the letters 
1 shall have from the Aga here, will insure me of 
being conveyed, from hand to hand, to my journey's 
end. The Mahometans in Africa are what the Rus- 
sians are in Siberia, a trading, enterprising, supersti- 
tious, warlike set of vagabonds, and wherever they 
are set upon going, they will and do go ; but they 
neither can nor do make voyages merely commercial, 
or merely religious, across Africa ; and where we do 
not find them in commerce, we find them not at all. 
They cannot, however vehemently pushed on by reli- 
gion, afford to cross the continent without trading by 
the way. 

" October 14th. — I went today to the marketplace, 
where they vend the black slaves, that come from to- 
wards the interior parts of Africa. There were two 
hundred of them together, dressed and ornamented as 
in their country. The appearance of a savage in 
every region is almost the same. There were very 
few men among them ; this indicates that they are 
prisoners of war. They have a great many beads, 
and other ornaments about them, that are from the 
East. I was told by one of them, that they came 
from the west of Sennaar, fifty five days' journey, which 
may be about four or five hundred miles. A Negro 



316 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

chief said, the Nile had its source in his countr}'. In 
general they had their hair plaited in a great number 
of small detached plaits, none exceeding in length six 
or eight inches ; the hair was filled with grease and 
dirt, purposely daubed on. 

" October 16th. — I have renewed my visit today, 
and passed it more agreeably than yesterday ; for yes- 
terday I was rudely treated. The Franks are prohib- 
ited to purchase slaves, and therefore the Turks do not 
like to see them in the market. Mr Rosetti favored 
me with one of his running charge d'affaires to accom- 
pany me ; but having observed yesterday among the 
ornaments of the Negroes a variety of beads, and 
wanting to know from what country they came, I re- 
quested Mr Rosetti, previously to my second visit, to 
show me from his store samples of Venetian beads. 
He showed me samples of fifteen hundred different 
kinds ; after this I set out. 

" The name of the country these savages come from 
is Darfoor, and is well known on account of the slave 
trade, as well as of that in gum and elephants' teeth. 
The appearance of these Negroes declares them to be 
a people, in as savage a state as any people can be ; 
but not of so savage a temper, or of that species of 
countenance, that indicates savage intelligence. They 
appear a harmless wild people ; but they are mostly 
young women. 

" The beads they are ornamented with are Vene- 
tian ; and they have some Venetian brass medals, 
which the Venetians make for trade. The beads are 
worked wampum- wise. I know not where they got 
the marine shells they worked among their beads, nor 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 317 

how they could have seen white men. I asked them 
if they would use me well in their country, if I should 
visit it ? They said, Yes ; and added, that they should 
make a king of me, and treat me with all the 
delicacies of their country. Like the Egyptian wo- 
men, and like most other savages, they stick on orna- 
ments wherever they can, and wear, like them, a great 
ring in the nose, either from the cartilage, or from the 
side ; they also rub on some black kind of paint round 
the eyes, like the Egyptian women. They are a 
sizeable, well-formed people, quite black, with what, 
I believe, we call the true Guinea face, and with curl- 
ed short hair ; but not more curled or shorter than I 
have seen it among the Egyptians ; but in general 
these savages plait it in tassels plastered with clay or 
paint. Among some of them the hair is a foot long, 
and curled, resembling exactly one of our mops. The 
prevailing color, where it can be seen, is a black and 
red mixed. I think it would make any hair curl, even 
Uncle Toby's wig, to be plaited and plastered as this 
is. This caravan, which I call the Darfoor caravan, 
is not very rich. The Sennaar is the rich caravan. 

" October 19th. — I went yesterday to see if more 
of the Darfoor caravan had arrived ; but they were 
not. I wonder why travellers to Cairo have not 
visited these slave markets, and conversed with the 
Jelabs, or travelling merchants of these caravans; 
both are certainly sources of great information. The 
eighth part of the money expended on other accounts, 
might here answer some good solid purpose. For my 
part, I have not expended a crown, and I have a better 
idea of the people of Africa, of its trade, of the posi- 



318 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

tion of places, the nature of the country, and manner 
of travelling, than ever I had by any other means ; 
and, I believe, better than any other means would 
afford me. 

" October 25th. — I have been again to the slave 
market ; but neither the Jelabs (a name which in this 
country is given to all travelling merchants), nor the 
slaves are yet arrived in town ; they will be here to- 
morrow. I met two or three in the street, and one 
with a shield and spear. I have understood today, 
that the king of Sennaar is himself a merchant, and 
concerned in the Sennaar caravans. The merchant 
here, who contracts to convey me to Sennaar, is Pro- 
curer at Cairo to the King of Sennaar ; this is a good 
circumstance, and one I knew not of till today. Mr 
Rosetti informed me of it. He informed me also, 
that this year the importation of Negro slaves into 
Egypt will amount to tw^enty thousand. The caravans 
from the interior countries of Africa do not arrive here 
uniformly every year ; they are sometimes absent two 
or three years. 

" Among a dozen of Sennaar slaves, I saw three 
personable men of a good bright olive color, of viva- 
cious and intelligent countenances ; but they had all 
three (which first attracted my notice) heads uncom- 
monly formed ; the forehead was the narrowest, the 
longest, and most protuberant I ever saw. Many of 
these slaves speak a few words of the Arab language ; 
but whether they learned them before or since their 
captivity I cannot tell. 

" A caravan goes from here to Fezzan, which they 
call a journey of fifty days ; and from Fezzan to 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 319 

Tombuctou, which they call a journey of ninety days. 
The caravans travel about twenty miles a day, which 
makes the distance on the road from here to Fezzan, 
one thousand miles ; and from Fezzan to Tombuctou, 
one thousand eight hundred miles. From here to 
Sennaar is reckoned six hundred miles. I have been 
waiting several days to have an interview with the 
Jelabs, who go from hence to Sennaar. I am told that 
they carry, in general, trinkets ; but among other 
things soap, antimony, red linen, razors, scissars, mir- 
rors, beads ; and, as far as I can yet learn, they bring 
from Sennaar elephants' teeth, the gum called here 
gum Sennaar, camels, ostrich feathers, and slaves. 

" Wan^ara is talked of here as a place producing 
much gold, and as a kingdom ; all accounts, and there 
are many, agree in this. The King of Wangara 
(whom I hope to see in about three months after 
leaving this) is said to dispose of just what quantity 
he pleases of his gold ; sometimes a great deal, and 
sometimes little or none ; and this, it is said, he does 
to prevent strangers knowing how rich he is, and that 
he may live in peace." 

In a letter to the Association are expressed his un- 
diminished zeal in their cause, the high motives which 
impelled him onward, and his utter indifference to 
everything but the success of his undertaking. 

" Money ! it is a vile slave ! I have at present an 
economy of a more exalted kind to observe. I have 
the eyes of of some of the first men of the first king- 
dom on earth turned upon me. I am engaged by 
those very men, in the most important object that any 
private individual can be engaged in. I have their 



320 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

approbation to acquire or to lose ; and their esteem, 
also, which I prize beyond everything, except the in- 
dependent idea of serving mankind. Should rashness 
or desperation carry me through, whatever fame the 
vain and injudicious might bestow, I should not ac- 
cept of it ; it is the good and great I look too ; fame 
bestowed by them is altogether different, and is closely 
allied to a ' Well done ' from God ; but rashness will 
not be likely to carry me through, any more than timid 
caution. To find the necessary medium of conduct, to 
vary and apply it to contingencies, is the economy I 
allude to ; and if I succeed by such means, men of 
sense in any succeeding epoch will not blush to follow 
me, and perfect those discoveries, which I have only 
abilities to trace out roughly, or a dispositition to at- 
tempt. A Turkish sopha has no charms for me ; if it 
had, I could soon obtain one here. Believe me, a single 
' Well done ' from your Association has more worth in 
it to me, than all the trappings of the East ; and what 
is still more precious, is, the pleasure I have in the 
justification of my own conduct at the tribunal of my 
own heart." 

On the fifteenth of November he again wrote to 
Mr Jefferson as follows. 

" This is my third letter to you from Egypt. I 
should certainly write to the Marquis de la Fayette, 
if I knew where to find him. I speak of him often 
among the French at Cairo. But if our news here, 
with respect to the affairs of France, be authentic, he 
would hardly find time to read my letter, if his active 
spirit is employed in the conflict in proportion to its 
powers. It is possible, however, that my compliments 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 321 

may reach him, and 1 desire it may be through your 
means. Tell him that I love him, and that the French 
patriots in Cairo call on the name of Suffrein and 
La FayettCj the one for point-blank honesty, and the 
other as the soldier and the courtier. The old vete- 
ran in finance andtcivil economy, Mr Necker, is wel- 
comed to the helm. 

" I have novi^ been in Cairo three months, and it is 
within a few days only, that I have had any certainty 
of being able to proceed in the prosecution of my 
voyage. The difficulties, that have attended me, 
have occupied me day and night. I should otherwise 
not only have written to you oftener, but should have 
given you some little history of what I have heard and 
seen. My excuse now is, that I am doing up my 
baggage for my journey, and most curious baggage it 
is. I shall leave Cairo in two or three days, 

" Perhaps f should not have pleased you, if I had 
written much in detail. I think I know your taste 
for ancient history ; it does not comport with what 
experience teaches me. The enthusiastic avidity 
with which you search for treasures in Egypt, and I 
suppose all over with the East, ought injustice to the 
world, and your own generous propensities, to be modi- 
fied, corrected, and abated. I should have written 
you the truth. It is disagreeable to hear it, when 
habit has accustomed one to falsehood. You have 
the travels of Savary in this country. Burn them. 
Without entering into a discussion, that would be too 
long for a letter, I cannot tell you why I think most 
historians have written more to satisfy themselves, 
than to benefit others. I am certainly very angry 



322 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

with those, who have written of the countries where 
I have travelled, and of this particularly. They have 
all more or less deceived me. In some cases perhaps 
it is difficult to determine, which does the most mis- 
chief, the self love of the historian, or the curiosity of 
the reader ; but both together have led us into errors, 
that it is now too late to rectify. You will think my 
head is turned to write you such a letter from Egypt, 
but the reason is, I do not intend it shall be turned. 

" I have passed my time disagreeably here. Reli- 
gion does more mischief in Egypt than all other 
things, and here it has always done more than in most 
other places. The humiliating situation of a Frank 
would be insupportable to me, except for my voyage. 
It is a shame to the sons of Europe, that they should 
suffer such arrogance at the hands of a banditti of 
ignorant fanatics. I assure myself, that even your 
curiosity and love of antiquity would not detain you 
in Egypt three months. 

" From Cairo I am to travel southwest about three 
hundred leagues to a black king. Then my present 
conductors will leave me to my fate. Beyond, I sup- 
pose I shall go alone. I expect to cut the continent 
across between the parallels of twelve and twenty 
degrees of north latitude. If possible, I shall write you 
from the kingdom of this black gentleman. If not, 
do not forget me in the interval of time, which may 
pass during my voyage from thence to Europe, and as 
likely to France as anywhere. I shall not forget you ; 
indeed, it will be a consolation to think of you in my 
last moments. Be happy." 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 323 

This is the last letter, which Ledyard is known to 
have written, either to Mr Jefferson, or to any other 
person. He wrote to the secretary of the Association, 
probably by the same conveyance, stating that, after 
much vexations delay, all things were at last ready 
for his departure, and that his next communication 
might be expected from Sennaar. The Aga had given 
him letters of recommendation, his passage was en- 
gaged, the terms settled, and the day fixed, on which 
the caravan was to leave Cairo. He wrote in good 
spirits and apparent health, and the confidence of the 
Association had never been more firm, nor their hopes 
more sanguine, than at this juncture. Their extreme 
disappointment may well be imagined, therefore, when 
the next letters from Egypt brought the melancholy 
intelligence of his death. 

During his residence at Cairo, his pursuits had made 
it necessary for him to be much exposed to the heat 
of the sun, and to other deleterious influences of the 
climate, at the most unfavorable season of the year. 
The consequence was an attack of a bilious complaint, 
which he thought to remove by the common remedy 
of vitriolic acid. Whether this was administered by 
himself, or by some other person, is not related, but 
the quantity taken was so great, as to produce violent 
and burning pains, that threatened to be fatal, unless 
immediate relief could be procured. This was at- 
tempted by a powerful dose of tartar emetic. But all 
was in vain. The best medical skill in Cairo was 
called to his aid without effect, and he closed his life 
of vicissitude and toil, at the moment when he imagin- 
ed his severest cares were over, and the prospects 



324 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 

before him were more flattering, than they had been at 
any former period. He was decently interred, and all 
suitable respect was paid to his obsequies by such 
friends, as he had found among the European residents 
in the capital of Egypt. 

The precise day of his death is not known, but the 
event is supposed to have happened towards the end 
of November, 1788., He was then in the thirtyeighth 
year of his age. {[_l1- ^^'''■n, /J^j, 

So much has been drawn from the traveller's own 
writings in the preceding narrative, that nothing can 
be added to make the reader better acquainted with, 
the constitution of his mind, the qualities of his heart, or 
the characteristics of his genius. Mr Beaufoy's de- 
scription of him is short, but descriminating, and the 
more worthy of regard, as having been founded on 
personal knowledge. 

"To those who have never seen Mr Ledyard it 
may not, perhaps, be uninteresting to know, that his 
person, though scarcely exceeding the middle size, 
was remarkably expressive of activity and strength ; 
and that his manners, though unpolished, were neither 
uncivil nor unpleasiog. Little attentive to difference 
of rank, he seemed to consider all men as his equals, 
and as such he respected them. His genius, though 
uncultivated and irregular, was original and compre- 
hensive. Ardent in his wishes, yet calm in his delib- 
e'rations ; daring in his purposes, but guarded in his 
measures ; impatient of control, yet capable of strong 
endurance; adventurous beyond the conception of 
ordinary men, yet wary and considerate, and attentive 
to all precautions, he appeared to be formed by Na- 
ture for achievements of hardihood and peril." 



LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 326 

His letters afford convincing proofs of his kind and 
amiable disposition, gratitude his to benefactors, hu- 
manity, and disinterestedness. This last virtue, in- 
deed, he practised to an excess. No man ever acted 
with less regard to self, or on a broader scale of 
philanthropy and general good. That he finally ac- 
complished little, compared with the magnitude of his 
designs, was his misfortune, but not his fault. Had 
he been less eccentric, however, in some of his pe- 
culiarities, more attentive to his immediate interests, 
more regardful of the force of circumstances, it is 
possible that his efforts would have been rewarded 
with better success. The acts of his life demand 
notice less on account of their results, than of the 
spirit with which they were performed, and the un- 
common traits of character which prompted to their 
execution. Such instances of decision, energy, perse- 
verance, fortitude, and enterprise, have rarely been 
witnessed in the same individual ; and in the exercise 
of these high attributes of mind, his example cannot 
be too much admired or imitated. 



THE END. 



d'^^ 




n 



J^t(Gi 



